HUMAN LEOPARDS
HUMAN LEOPARDS
AN ACCOUNT OF THE TRIALS OF HUMAN LEOPARDS
BEFORE THE SPECIAL COMMISSION COURT ; WITH
A NOTE ON SIERRA LEONE, PAST AND PRESENT
BY
K. J. BEATTY
OP THE MIDDLE TEMPLE, BARRISTER-AT-LAW
TOR SOME YEARS RESIDENT IN SIERRA LEONE
WITH A PREFACE BY
SIR WILLIAM BRANDFORD GRIFFITH
33 Illustrations
LONDON
HUGH REES, LTD.
5 REGENT STREET, PALL MALL, S.W.
1915
PRINTED BY
HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD.
LONDON AND AYLESBUBY.
PREFACE
CAPTAIN BEATTY, just before leaving for the Dar-
danelles, asked me to write a preface. I think that
the best preface will be to answer, as far as I am
able, several questions which were frequently put to
me on my return to civilization after the conclusion
of the Special Commission Court. These questions
were, " What was the object of the Human Leopard
Society ? Were its members cannibals for the pur-
pose of satisfying an appetite for human flesh, or
was it some religious rite ? Would the sentences
inflicted by the Special Commission Court have the
effect of stamping out the horrible practice ? >:
The first question can be answered with some
confidence. The trend of the whole evidence showed
that the prime object of the Human Leopard Society
was to secure human fat wherewith to anoint the
Borfima. The witnesses told us how the occasion of
a murder is used to " blood " the Borfima, but the
potency of this terrible fetish depends upon its being
frequently supplied with human fat. Hence these
murders.
The question as to cannibalism^ it is not possible
to answer with any degree of certainty. The Com-
mission sat for over five months, had before it
vi PKEFACE
hundreds of witnesses, and the notes of evidence ran
into thousands of pages ; but the Court was a judicial
tribunal, and it was anxious to bring its labours to an
end as speedily as possible, so that no question was
asked or allowed by the Court which was not relevant
to the issue. Again and again answers given by
witnesses opened up avenues which it would have
been most interesting to investigate, but, unless the
investigation was relevant to the case in hand or
would have served to elucidate some other part of
the evidence which was doubtful, the Court could
not allow it to be pursued. Nor would it have been
seemly for the members of the Court to make private
investigation into a matter before them judicially.
Consequently we could not probe down and ascer-
tain the reason of things, but had to be content with
the bare facts which came out by way of evidence.
Moreover, although it was possible to have a fair
idea as to whether a witness was generally speaking
the truth or not, it was extremely difficult to lay one's
finger on any detail and be satisfied as to its reason-
able correctness. Furthermore, whenever a witness
approached cannibalism he palpably made reserva-
tions or additions, whilst at all the more interesting
junctures we had to keep severely in mind that we
were not holding a scientific inquiry but were a
judicial tribunal having as the sole issue before us
whether the deceased was murdered by the prisoners
in the dock in connection with an unlawful society.
Consequently, notwithstanding the time spent over
the different trials, and despite the fact that when-
ever the subject of cannibalism came up the Court
was keenly on the alert to fathom its objects, it is
PREFACE
Vll
not possible to state definitely why the members of
the Human Leopard Society ate their victims. There
was, however, one outstanding fact : all the principal
offenders were men of mature age, past their prime ;
they were the ones who, so to speak, managed the
concern, who arranged for victims, and who received
the most coveted portions of the slaughtered bodies ;
and I formed the opinion that when they devoured
the human flesh the idea uppermost in their minds
was that they were increasing their virile powers.
There is no sentence in the notes of evidence which
I can quote in support of this theory, but after an
extended experience of the point of view of the West
African mind, and with some acquaintance with the
subject on the spot, I venture the opinion that the
Human Leopards eat the flesh of their victims, not
to satisfy any craving for human flesh nor in con-
nection with any religious rite, but in the belief that
their victims' flesh will increase their virility.
Whether that was the original idea when the first
person fell a victim to the Human Leopards may
be questioned. Cannibalism is probably only a bye-
product in these murders. Originally it may have
been to bind the murderers together and so pre-
serve inviolable secrecy that each member of the
Society partook of a portion of the flesh ; or it may
have been to continue the leopard-acting, i.e. by
devouring the prey ; or it may have been with a
combination of these ideas that cannibalism originated.
Gradually, however, the notion arose that human
flesh had specific virtues ; as the Borfima's energy was
replenished with human fat so would the cannibal be
reinvigorated with other parts of the human body ;
viii PREFACE
and possibly during the last few decades the value
placed upon human flesh was equal to or even ex-
ceeded that set upon human fat. Such an explana-
tion would help to account for the expansion and
increased activity of the Society during the past
twenty years.
Then comes the question whether the punishments
inflicted by the Special Commission Court will have
the effect of stamping out the Society. In con-
sidering this question the environment of the people
must be taken into account. I have been in many
forests, but in none which seemed to me to be so un-
canny as the Sierra Leone bush.- In Mende-land the
bush is not high, as a rule it is little more than scrub,
nor is the vegetation exceptionally rank, but there
is something about the Sierra Leone bush, and
about the bush villages as well, which makes one's
flesh creep. It may be the low hills with enclosed
swampy valleys, or the associations of the slave
trade, or the knowledge that the country is alive
with Human Leopards; but to my mind the chief
factor in the uncanniness is the presence of numerous
half-human chimpanzees with their maniacal shrieks
and cries. The bush seemed to me pervaded with
something supernatural, a spirit which was striving
to bridge the animal and the human. Some of the
weird spirit of their surroundings has, I think,
entered into the people, and accounts for their weird
customs. The people are by no means a low, savage
race. I found many of them highly intelligent,
shrewd, with more than the average sense of humour,
and with the most marvellous faculty for keeping
hidden what they did not wish to be known the
PEEFACE ix
result probably of secret societies for countless
generations. But beyond such reasoning powers as
are required for their daily necessities their whole
mental energies are absorbed in fetish, witchcraft,
" medicine " such as Borfima and the like. What
they need is a substitute for their bottomless wells
of secret societies, for their playing at being leopards
or alligators and acting the part with such realism
that they not only kill their quarry but even devour
it. In my opinion the only way. to extirpate these
objectionable societies is the introduction of the
four R's the fourth, Religion, being specially needed
to supply the place of the native crude beliefs. No
doubt the energetic action of the Government, and
in a lesser degree the labours of the Special Com-
mission Court, will have a good effect; but, I fear,
only a temporary effect. The remedy must go deeper
than mere punishment : the Human Leopard Society
must be superseded by Education and Religion.
W. BRANDFORD GRIFFITH.
2, ESSEX COURT, TEMPLE,
September, 1915.
CONTENTS
PART I
CHAPTEE I
PAGE
INTRODUCTORY 1
CHAPTER II
THE PORO, TONGO PLAY, BORFIMA, WITCH-
DOCTORS, OATHS 15
CHAPTER III
THE KALE CASE 27
CHAPTER IV
THE IMPERRI CASE ..... 36
CHAPTER V
THE KABATI CASE . . . . . . . 44
CHAPTER VI
THE YANDEHUN CASE 61
xi
xii CONTENTS
CHAPTER VII
PAQB
BORFIMA AND MEMBERSHIP CASES ... 71
CHAPTEK VIII
OTHER CASES OF LEOPARD MURDER ; THE
HUMAN BABOON SOCIETY 80
PART II
CHAPTEK IX
A NOTE ON SIERRA LEONE, PAST AND PRESENT 88
APPENDIX
DESPATCH FROM THE GOVERNOR OF SIERRA
LEONE REPORTING ON THE MEASURES
ADOPTED TO DEAL WITH UNLAWFUL
SOCIETIES IN THE PROTECTORATE , 119
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
SACKVILLE STREET, FREETOWN . . . Frontispiece
FACING PAGE
VIEW OP FREETOWN 1
A TEMNE GIRL 3
OBLIVIOUS OF HUMAN ALLIGATORS .... 9
PORO DEVILS 15
ENTRANCE TO A PORO BUSH 19
BUNDU DEVILS, SIERRA LEONE 21
WIVES OF A NATIVE CHIEF 25
A PORO DEVIL 28
WEAVING COUNTRY CLOTH 30
BUNDU GIRLS AND DEVIL 35
STOCKADE SURROUNDING GBANGBAMA PRISON AND GUARD-
HOUSE. PRISONERS AWAITING TRIAL, GBANGBAMA
PRISON 38
A NATURAL BRIDGE ON THE ROAD TO GBANGBAMA . 43
A NATIVE VILLAGE 46
PALM FOREST, SIERRA LEONE .' . . .51
A NATIVE VILLAGE ....... 56
A SELF-CONFESSED CANNIBAL 63
A WATERSIDE VILLAGE 66
HINTERLAND TYPES . . . . . . .71
xiv LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS
FACING PAGE
WEST AFRICAN SOLDIERS 74
THE PRISONERS OP A NATIVE CHIEFTAINESS, CRACKINQ
PALM-KERNELS 79
LADIES OF THE SIERRA LEONE HINTERLAND ... 83
A NATIVE CHIEFTAINESS 85
EMPIRE DAY IN FREETOWN 88
WHERE HAWKINS MAY HAVE LANDED FOR SLAVES . 90
THRESHING RICE, SIERRA LEONE PROTECTORATE . . 93
A NATIVE HUNTER 96
PICKING PALM-KERNELS 99
THE HIGHLAND OF SIERRA LEONE, WITH HILL STATION IN
THE FOREGROUND . . . . . . ., 104
BUNDU GIRLS AND BUNDU DEVILS . . . .111
COTTON TREE STATION, 9 A.M. BUNGALOW TRAIN, FREE-
TOWN . ..,\. ... . . . 115
FREETOWN FROM THE HARBOUR . . . ' .117
VIEW FROM GOVERNMENT HOUSE, FREETOWN . . 125
HUMAN LEOPARDS
PART I
CHAPTEK I
INTRODUCTORY
THAT there were cannibals in the Hinterland of Sierra
Leone in former days appears from the observations 1
of William Finch, who visited Sierra Leone in August,
1607. This accurate observer states, " To the South
of the Bay, some fortie or fiftie leagues distant within
the Countrey, inhabiteth a very fierce people which
are man-eaters, which sometimes infest them/' This
clearly points to the Mende country, where the Human
Leopard Society was lately flourishing. Finch does
not, however, refer to anything but pure cannibalism.
In 1803 Dr. Thomas Winterbottom, the Colonial
Surgeon, Sierra Leone, wrote an account of the native
Africans in the neighbourhood of Sierra Leone, and;
after quoting and criticizing various authorities who
had alleged the existence of cannibalism in different
parts of West Africa, states (vol. i. p. 166) as follows :
" That this horrid practice does not exist in the
1 These observations, to be found in vol. i. of Samuel Purchas's
" Hakluytus Posthumus, or Purchas his Pilgrimes, containing a History
of the World, in Sea Voyages, and Lande Travells," by Englishmen
and others, are printed in full at p. 94.
1
a HUMAN LEOPARDS
neighbourhood of Sierra Leone, nor for many hundred
leagues along the coast to the northward and south-
ward of that place, may be asserted with the utmost
confidence, nor is there any tradition among the
natives which can prove that it ever was the cus-
tom ; on the contrary, they appear struck with horror
when they are questioned individually on the subject,
though at the same time they make no scruple of
accusing other nations at a distance, and whom they
barely know by name, of cannibalism."
Joseph Corry 1 (1806) hints at human sacrifices,
but neither he nor Major Laing 2 (1822) heard any-
thing of cannibalism, whilst Harrison Rankin *
(1834), who appears to have made considerable
inquiry into the matter, and who speaks of " slavery,
cannibalism and polygamy " as being deemed domestic
virtues in the wilds of Africa, specifically mentions
the only definite and well-ascertained case of canni-
balism which came to his notice ; it was the case of
a liberated resident (i.e. a native African liberated
from a captured slaver) who had wandered in the bush
and had killed another native for food. Rankin in
conclusion states, " In the heterogeneous commixture
of tribes in the British Colony, I discovered none
which doubted the practice of cannibalism, but none
of the established residents would plead guilty to the
charge themselves or admit it of their own nation.
1 " Observations upon the Windward Coast of Africa, the Religion,
Character, Customs, etc., of the Natives, etc. etc., made in the years
1805 and 1806," by Joseph Corry, 1807.
2 "Travels in the Timmanee, Kooranko, and Soolima Countries in
Western Africa," by Major Alexander Gordon Laing, 1825.
8 " The White Man's Grave, a Visit to Sierra Leone in 1834," by
F. Harrison Rankin, 1836.
A TEMNE GIRL.
INTRODUCTORY 3
They generally agreed in attributing it to the savages
of the river Bonny."
The first trace of human leopards appears in the
following quotation from Bishop Ingham's " Sierra
Leone after a Hundred Years/' published in 1894.
The Bishop writes at p. 272 : " The Temnes believe
that by witchcraft a man may turn himself into an
animal, and, in that form, may injure an enemy. A
man was burnt at Port Lokkoh in 1854 for having
turned himself into a leopard." His lordship, who
went to Africa about thirty years and who wrote about
forty years after the event above mentioned, would
probably have heard of this fact through Christian
natives who (even if they had known the real reason
for the burning) would have been keen to put it to
the account of witchcraft ; but taking into con-
sideration the frequent criticisms of Temne " boys "
at Gbangbama during the sitting of the Special
Commission Court that it was absurd to waste so
much time over the prisoners, but that we ought to
burn all the persons charged with human leopard
offences together with their villages and families, and
so stamp out the practice as it had been stamped out
in the Temne country, it seems more than probable
that the man was burned not for witchcraft but as a
human leopard.
The first definite reference to human leopards is
to be found in Banbury's " Sierra Leone ; or, the
White Man's Grave," 1888. At p. 183 he says :
" Secret cannibalism is also prevalent, though the
native punishment for this custom is death, and in
the Mendi Mission (an American society) they possess
the skin of a large leopard, with iron claws, which
4 HUMAN LEOPARDS
had once been the property of a man who, under this
guise, satisfied his horrible craving." This clearly
refers to human leopard activity.
Mr. Alldridge, 1 who has had a long and intimate
acquaintance with the Mende tribes, is of opinion
that the Human Leopard Society is of no great age,
probably not more than half a century. All, how-
ever, that can be said with certainty is that until
comparatively lately the operations of this society,
if it existed, were so limited or so secret that the
Society was unknown to Europeans, or indeed to
Africans who were in touch with Europeans.
In 1891 the report from the Mende country that
a number of cannibals had been burnt to death came
as a shock to the Executive. The existence of the
practice of cannibalism was known, but there was no
idea that there was cannibalism on such a large scale.
["it seems that the inhabitants of the Imperri chiefdom
had suffered so heavily at the hands of the cannibals
that they complained to their chief. The complaints
becoming too numerous and too insistent to be
disregarded, the chief called a meeting, and the big
men of Gangama, Gbangbama, Yandehun, and other
towns and villages met at Bogo. Here the question
of cannibalism was discussed, and those present were
informed that a number of Tongo players 8 had been
summoned for the purpose of discovering the canni-
bals, the guilty parties no doubt depending upon
their Borfima 8 and bribes to escape detection. On
the appointed day the Tongo players arrived. A
* " The Sherbro and ite Hinterland," by T. J. Alldridge, 1901.
Seep. 21.
See p. 23.
INTKODUCTOKY 5
huge fire was lighted, and the Tongo players were
directed to throw into the fire all persons whom they
found to be cannibals. One of the first to be cast
into the flames was the principal chief who had been
instrumental in calling in the Tongo players, and it
is asserted that as many as eighty persons were burnt
to death, a number of them anticipating their fate
and of their own accord -thro wing themselves into the
flames. A mercantile agent who visited Bogo shortly
after this terrible retribution reported that the spot
where the burning took place was a sickening sight,
with its heaps of white ashes and remains of human
bodies, whilst Mr. Alldridge, who held an inquiry
into the matter, says that the pyramid of calcined
bones which he saw at the junction of two roads just
outside Bogo was about four feet high. |
But the Government could not view~with indiffer-
ence such a crude and barbarous administration of
justice, and on the 5th May, 1892, issued the following
proclamation :
""** WHEREAS from time to time in the Imperri
Country and elsewhere within the Colony of Sierra
Leone there have been native plays or dances com-
monly called or known as ' Tongo Play/ whereby
some of the inhabitants of the said Colony have been
accused of and denounced as being ' Human Leopards/
or as guilty of various crimes and misdemeanours,
and upon such accusation and denouncement they
have been unlawfully burnt to death or otherwise
illegally punished :
" Now THEREFORE His Excellency the Adminis-
trator of the Government of the Colony aforesaid
doth hereby publish, proclaim, and make known
6 HUMAN LEOPAEDS
' That from and after this date the play or dance
of the Tongo People commonly called and known as
' Tongo Play/ being contrary to law, must at once
cease throughout the Colony.
' That every Tongo person is hereby enjoined and
required to quit the Colony within twenty-one days
from the date of this Proclamation on pain of being
arrested, detained, and deported as a Political
Prisoner :
" That every person taking part in any ' Tongo
Play ' or action resulting thereupon will be prosecuted
and punished according to law :
" And all the inhabitants of and sojourners in the
Colony are hereby enjoined to govern themselves
accordingly."
With all dread of the Tongo players removed,
cannibalism burst out afresh towards the end of 1894,
and at the beginning of 1895 a number of murders took
place. It was then definitely ascertained that these
murders had been committed by members of a society
which afterwards became notorious as the Human
Leopard Society. To deal with this extraordinary
class of crime the Government of the Colony of Sierra
Leone decided that drastic and exceptional legisla-
tion was necessary, and a Bill entitled the Human
Leopard Society Ordinance, 1895, was introduced and
passed as Ordinance No. 15 of 1895.
The object of the Ordinance was set out in the
preamble, which read as follows :
' WHEREAS there exists in the Imperri Country
a Society known by the name of the Human Leopard
Society formed for the purpose of committing murder :
" AND WHEREAS many murders have been com-
INTRODUCTOEY 7
mitted by men dressed so as to resemble leopards and
armed with a three-pronged knife commonly known as
a leopard knife or other weapon :
" AND WHEREAS owing to the number of these
murders, and the difficulty of detecting the perpe-
trators of the same, it is expedient to amend the law :
"Be it therefore enacted by the Government of
the Colony of Sierra Leone with the advice and consent
of the Legislative Council thereof as follows " :
Then followed provisions making it penal for any
person without lawful excuse to have in his posses-
sion or keeping any of the articles mentioned in the
Schedule, viz. :
"(a) A leopard skin shaped so as to make a man
wearing it resemble a leopard ;
" (6) A three-pronged knife ; and
" (c) A native medicine known as ' Borfima ' " ;
and under the Ordinance the police were given powers
where there was reasonable ground of suspicion to
arrest and to search without a warrant, and heavy
penalties were imposed for obstructing the police.
On the 9th October, 1896, a Protectorate was pro-
claimed over that portion of the Hinterland of the
Colony of Sierra Leone which had hitherto been
merely under the control of the Colonial Government.
Up to this date, for more than half a century,
the Government of the Colony had claimed and exer-
cised the right of intervention in disputes which led
to inter-tribal wars or which interfered with the
trade routes from the interior, but beyond this and
the efforts made to stop slave-raiding there had been
very little interference with the Hinterland natives.
During the same year it was found necessary
8 HUMAN LEOPAEDS
further to strengthen the hands of the Executive in
dealing with crimes committed by members of secret
societies, and the Human Leopard Society Ordinance
of 1895 was added to, provision being made whereby
any chief who was proved to have permitted or who
failed to report within a reasonable time any cele-
bration of Human Leopard Customs which had
occurred in any place under his control was liable to
heavy penalties.
Under the amended law the Governor-in-Council
was given power to order the arrest and detention of
chiefs when it was deemed expedient to do so for the
preservation of peace and order and the suppression
of the Human Leopard Society. Power was also
given to the Governor-in-Council to deport any such
chief from the British sphere of influence in Sierra
Leone. The reason for the latter enactment seems to
have been that it was considered impossible for the
Society to flourish without the connivance of at least
some of the chiefs in the part of the territory affected.
It appeared that while some chiefs had been most
active in their support of the Government, others had
given no assistance or had even put obstruction in
the way of investigating charges by refusing to deliver
up witnesses and by allowing them to leave the
country, with the result that in many cases it was
difficult to bring offenders to justice. Prosecutions,
however, took place from time to time for offences
against the Ordinance, and in a number of cases
convictions were obtained on capital charges as well
as in lesser offences against the Ordinance.
During investigations connected with the offences
committed by members of theHuman Leopard Society ,
INTEODUCTOEY 9
it came out that another secret society existed known
as the Human Alligator Society. This Society appears
to have been an offshoot of the Human Leopard
Society and the usual meeting-place of this new
society was in the vicinity of rivers where crocodiles
or as they are called locally alligators abound.
Thereupon the law was further amended in 1901,
and it was made a felony for any person without
lawful authority or excuse to have in his possession,
custody, or under his control an alligator skin shaped
or made so as to make a man wearing the same
resemble an alligator.
During the year 1903 a Circuit Court, presided over
by a judge who sat with assessors, was constituted,
and after that date all offences against the Human
Leopard and Alligator Society Ordinances were tried
by that Court. From that date up to the middle of
1912 there were before the Circuit Court 17 cases,
in which 186 persons were charged with murder
under the above-mentioned Ordinances ; of these
persons 87 were convicted and sentenced to death,
and in many cases the sentence was duly carried
out publicly in the vicinity of the place where the
murder was committed.
In July, 1912, a murder took place at Imperri ;
the murderers were disturbed at their work ; a man
who was patently concerned in the murder, but was
not one of the actual murderers, was arrested ; upon
this man's shoulders the murderers threw the whole
burden of explanation. Unable to invent even a
plausible explanation, he made a clean breast and
gave the names of those implicated in the murder. In
the course of his explanation other murders were
10 HUMAN LEOPAEDS
referred to and other names were mentioned, with
the result that further arrests were made, whilst
other members of the Society whom he named turned
King's evidence. In this way the authorities obtained
information with respect to about 30 human leopard
murders since 1907, and between 300 and 400 per-
sons, including several paramount chiefs (Mahawas)
and a large number of sub-chiefs (Mahawurus), were
arrested. As in many cases no corroborative evidence
was procurable, the majority of these persons were
released, leaving 108, who were committed for trial.
To meet some of the difficulties which had arisen,
the Government thereupon brought forward two
Bills, one of which extended and strengthened the
existing law as to unlawful societies, whilst the other
set up a special court for the trial of persons charged
with offences connected with unlawful societies, and
authorized the deportation of persons who, although
acquitted by such court, were, in the opinion of the
court, a source of danger to the peace of the district.
The Attorney-General, in introducing the first Bill
into the Legislative Council of Sierra Leone, said :
" It will be within the knowledge of Honourable
Members of this Council that the operations of the
Human Leopard Societies in the Protectorate
chiefly in the Northern Sherbro District have been
lately very active.
" Not only have many murders been committed
this year in connection with the Human Leopard,
but murders which have been committed within the
last three or four years have only just come to light.
I can say that, so far as I know, there are over twenty
murders at least in connection with this Society
INTRODUCTORY 11
perpetrated this year or within the last three or four
years just recently come to light. This is a very
serious state of affairs, and one that has to be dealt
with in a drastic manner. As far as my knowledge
of this Society goes, twenty years ago its operations
were confined to, not the big men of the Protectorate,
but lesser people ; in fact, it was the paramount chiefs
who took part in trying to suppress the Society.
However, it seems as years have gone by, this state
of things has changed, either from natural inclination
or from force of circumstances, and the Society has
become too strong for the chiefs, with the result that
the paramount chiefs themselves have been drawn
into the Society and are now the leaders of it.
" Section 2 of this Ordinance gives the Governor
power, when any murder has been committed in
any chiefdom, to declare such chiefdom or any part
thereof to be a proclaimed district, and gives the
District Commissioner power to arrest anybody
therein. In the past the Government's chief difficulty
has been to get evidence to substantiate a prosecu-
tion, as it is generally after a long time that people
come forward to make statements about these murders,
and, owing to the intimidation practised by the influ-
ential chiefs upon possible witnesses, the Government
have always encountered great difficulty in procuring
witnesses to bring to justice the perpetrators of the
crime. It will be seen by Section 2 the District
Commissioner has power to arrest any person whose
arrest and detention he may consider advisable in
the interests of justice ; the first person he will
naturally arrest would be the chief of the district.
" This power seems drastic, but the circumstances
12 HUMAN LEOPARDS
of these murders are so exceptional that drastic
powers are required. Honourable Members will
remember that in the Principal Ordinance it is a
serious offence to be in possession of certain articles.
It is proposed to add three other articles which will
be seen detailed in Section 7. Up to the present, the
possession of certain articles has been necessary to
enable the District Commissioner to deal with persons
who are known to be active members of the Human
Leopard Society. It is now made criminal for a man
to be a member or to take any part in the operations
of this Society. These are the two chief points in
the Bill. Another addition is that by Section 5 which
gives power to the Governor to deport a man who has
been connected with this Society, and, if he is an
alien, to banish him permanently from the Colony.
As the District Commissioners have been obliged to
arrest a good many persons for whom it may not be
possible to formulate any charges, Honourable Mem-
bers will see from Schedule 9 that there is an indem-
nity clause covering all the arrests which have been
made."
The three articles mentioned by the Attorney-
General are described in the Ordinance as :
" (a) A dress made of baboon l skins commonly
used by members of an unlawful society ;
" (6) A ' kukoi ' or whistle commonly used for
calling together the members of an unlawful society ;
" (c) An iron needle commonly used for branding
members of an unlawful society."
1 This was owing to the fact that a society known as the Human
Baboon Society had been discovered to exist in one of the Northern
Districts of the Protectorate.
INTRODUCTORY 13
In introducing the Special Commission Court
Ordinance into the Legislative Council the Attorney-
General said :
" This Bill gives the Governor power to constitute
special courts for the trial of all offences under the
Human Leopard and Alligator Societies Ordinance,
1909, and also the Ordinance (the Human Leopard
and Alligator Amendment Ordinance, 1912) which
has just been read a second time. I may say that
the usual way of trying offenders in the Protectorate
is by the Circuit Court with three or four Native
Paramount Chiefs, but as a great number of these
chiefs are implicated and have been arrested in the
Protectorate, it is obvious that the services of many,
if any at all, will not be available. Moreover, there
are 64 persons under trial. It will take up too much
of the time of the Circuit Judge if all were sent for
trial before the Circuit Court. The Governor has the
power to appoint Commissioners, usually men who are
Senior District Commissioners. However, it is not
desirable to appoint Commissioners in the ordinary
way to try offences like these. Instead of the prisoners
being tried by the Circuit Judge in the ordinary way,
they will be charged before a special court of three
Judges.
" It is proposed in the Bill, which I may point out
will only be in operation for one year, to appoint a
Special Commission Court consisting of three persons.
Who they are or who they will be I cannot say ; but
I can say that they must be either judges or barristers
of a British court.
" The Bill also provides that there must be
unanimity before a prisoner can be convicted. The
14 HUMAN LEOPAEDS
procedure will be practically the same as that of the
Circuit Court, and all the procedure of the Circuit
will be followed.
" It will be observed in Clause 10 that the same
powers of deportation will be given to the Governor
when dealing with prisoners convicted by the Special
Commission Court as with those convicted by the
Circuit Court. By Clause 11 further power is given
to the Governor. Unfortunately, it sometimes
happens in these cases that there are several persons
who are more or less connected with these Societies,
but against whom there is no evidence ; they will
be simply ordered to leave the Colony and will not
be allowed to return."
The Colonial Office were fortunate in being able to
secure the services of an able and distinguished lawyer
and judge in the person of Sir William Brandford
Griffith, an Ex-Chief Justice of the Gold Coast Colony,
to be President of the Court, and he arrived in the
Colony from England on the 8th December, 1912.
CHAPTER II
THE PORO, TONGO PLAY, BORFIMA, WITCH-DOCTORS,
OATHS
THE PORO
ALTHOUGH it is impossible to say that the Human
Leopard Society is connected with the Poro, never-
theless any account of that Society wouldHBe wanting
unless accompanied by some reference to the Poro,
one of the secret societies by which the natives of
the Sierra Leone Hinterland are educated and were,
until the British Government took over the adminis-
tration of the country, ruled. Mr. Migeod, in the
Journal of the African Society for July, 1915, ven-
tures the suggestion that Purrus Campus in Ptolemy's
map of the second century may be no other than the
Latin for Poro bush ; and everything points to the
custom being of great antiquity. The earlier writers
on Sierra Leone dwell almost exclusively upon the
predatory habits of the Poro and the danger of
trespassing into the Poro bush, but Major Laing
(1822), who travelled amongst the Hinterland tribes
to the north of Sierra Leone, also points to the fact
that it was the Poro which governed the country.
He says :
" Particular pieces of ground (generally eminences
covered with thick wood) are consecrated to the
Greegrees and held sacred. I have always seen those
15
16 HUMAN LEOPARDS
enclosures approached with reverential awe, and
have been informed that the smallest encroachment
upon them would subject the aggressor to the most
awful punishment from the Purrah/an institution
which is much dreaded by the whole of this unhappy
country. Their power supersedes even that of the
headmen of the districts, and their deeds of secrecy
and darkness are as little called in question, or in-
quired into, as those of the inquisition were in Europe,
in former years. I have endeavoured in vain to
trace the origin or cause of formation of this extra-
ordinary association, and have reason to suppose
that it is now unknown to the generality of the
Timannees, and may possibly be even so to the
Purrah themselves, in a country where no traditionary
records are extant, either in writing or in song.
" In the early ages of the slave trade (which particu-
larly prevailed in this country) every nefarious scheme
was resorted to by the headmen for the purpose of
procuring subjects for the markets. It may be con-
jectured that where liberty was so insecure conceal-
ment not difficult, and the means of subsistence easy
to be procured, and when the power of the headmen
did not extend beyond the limits of their own town,
many individuals, whose safety was endangered,
would fly to the woods for protection ; and as their
numbers increased, would confederate for mutual
support, and thus give rise to secret signs of recog-
nition and rules of general guidance. It may further
be supposed, that in a country divided amongst
numerous petty authorities, each jealous of the other,
such a confederacy may soon have become too
powerful for any probable combination against them ;
THE PORO If
and being possessed of power would at length employ
it in the very abuses to which it had owed its own
origin.
' The headquarters of the Purrah are in enclosures
situated in the woods ; these are never deserted by
them entirely, and any man, not a Purrah, approach-
ing them is instantly apprehended, and rarely ever
heard of again. The few who have reappeared after
several years of secretion have always become inter-
mediately Purrah men themselves ; those who do
not again appear are supposed to be carried away
to distant countries and sold. The Purrahs do not con-
fine themselves always to the seizure of those who ap-
proach their enclosures, but frequently carry off single
travellers, and occasionally whole parties, who are
imprudent enough to pass from one town to another
in certain districts without applying for an escort
from the body. To ensure safety, one Purrah man is
sufficient, who, while leading the party, blows a small
reed whistle suspended from his neck. At the
advice of Ba Kooro, I procured one of these persons
as a guide from Ma Bung to Ma Yasoo, the inter-
mediate country being thickly inhabited by the
Purrah. As we passed along, they signified their
vicinity to us, by howling and screaming in the woods,
but although the sounds denoted their neighbourhood,
no individual was seen.
' The Purrahs frequently make an irruption into
towns in the night-time, and plunder whatever they
can lay their hands upon goats, fowls, cloths, pro-
visions, men, women, or children. On such occasions
the inhabitants remain shut up in their homes, until
long after the plunderers retreat. During the time
2
18 HUMAN LEOPARDS
that I was in the interior, I always had a sentry over
my quarters at night, for the protection of the baggage.
One night, the town in which we slept was visited
by the Purrah, and my sentinel remained firm at his
post. When the Purrah came up, an attack was made
upon him, but the application of the bayonet kept
them at a distance until I made my appearance, when
the Purrah, uncertain of their power over a white
man, scampered off ; they were mostly naked and
unarmed, but a few had knives.
" The outward distinguishing marks of the Purrah
are two parallel tattooed lines round the middle of
the body, inclining upwards in front, towards the
breast, and meeting in the pit of the stomach. There
are various gradations of rank among them, but I
could never ascertain their respective offices ; persons
said to be men of rank amongst them have been
pointed out to me with great caution, as the Timan-
nees, generally, do not like to speak of them ; but I
could learn nothing further. Purrah-men sometimes
quit their retirement, and associate with the towns-
people, following employments of various kinds, but
no chief or headman dare bring a palaver against a
Purrah-man, for fear of a retributive visit from the
whole body. At stated periods they hold conventions
or assemblies, and on those occasions the country is
in the greatest state of confusion and alarm ; no
proclamation is publicly made, but a notice from the
chief or headman of the Purrah, communicated by
signs hung up at different places, with the meaning of
which they are acquainted, is a summons to them to
meet on an appointed day, at a certain rendezvous.
Palavers of great weight, such as disputes between
THE PORO 19
rival towns, or offences of such magnitude as to call
for capital punishments, are always settled by the
Purrah the headmen of towns not having at the
present day (whatever power they may have pos-
sessed formerly) the lives or their subjects or depen-
dents in keeping. The Purrah may be therefore said
to possess the general government of the country,
and from the nature of their power, and the purposes
to which it is applied, they will probably be found
a most serious obstacle to its civilization." l
(rfcNf
Every subsequent writer touches upon the Poro,
and gradually more information is gleaned as to its
object and procedure and the manner in which it
exercises its power. The fullest account is to be
found in "Mr. Alldridge's "The Sherbro and its
Hinterland" (1901). The Poro is for men only,
and it begins by training the youth of the country.
Boys between 7 and 20 are taken into the Poro
bush for several months. " The meetings of the
fraternity for initiation of new members always take
place in the dry season, from November to April,
as they are held in the Big Bush, a part of which is
sufficiently cleared and the ground cleaned. The
opening to the Big Bush is rudely constructed of
palm leaves, the entrance being through leafy bowers,
and the aperture serving for a doorway hung with
country mats. Inside, the place is separated into
compartments similarly divided by palm leaves
that entrance also being hung with mats. The
whole is beneath the dense and overspreading foliage
of high trees, and is known as the Poro bush." 2
This Big Bush is usually much higher than the usual
1 Pp. 92-99. 2 " The Sherbro and its Hinterland," p. 126.
20 HUMAN LEOPAEDS
low bush of the country, and looks more like virgin
bush a scarce commodity in Mende land. Here the
boys are taught and trained and initiated, here they
dance and sing after dark, and here they are imbued
with the idea of the power and authority of the Poro.
After some months of training the boy is placed in
(1) The Messenger or servant class ; or,
(2) The Mohammedan Mori 1 or the Devil men
class ; or,
(3) The Chiefs' class ;
when further initiation and instruction suitable to
his class^are given.
Until the British Government proclaimed a
Protectorate, the government of the country was
practically in the hands of the third class. The
chiefs would assemble in the Poro bush, they would
be sworn to secrecy, and then would discuss the matter
in hand ; their orders would be issued and carried
out by the whole Society ; any member in default
could be tried by a Poro tribunal inside the Poro bush,
condemned, and there put away.
Every member of the Human Leopard Society is
a member of the Poro, the main supporters of both
societies are the chiefs, the place of meeting for both
societies is the Poro bush this suffices to show how
easily the Poro organization can be used, and no
doubt has been used, for many of the purposes of the
human leopards.
1 When it suits his purpose a Mori man will insist that by his religion
he can have nothing to do with such a heathen custom as the Poro ;
but one of the features of the Sierra Leone Hinterland is the remark-
able way in which Mohammedan Mori men are associated with every
form of secret society, magic, witchcraft, " medicine," and every
sort of trickery.
TONGO PLAYEKS 21
TONGO PLAYERS
A quotation which Mr. Alldridge has been so good
as to allow from his " Sherbro and its Hinterland "
(pp. 156-159) with respect to the Tongo players
already alluded to will illustrate the atmosphere in
which the human leopards worked.
" Formerly when suspicious circumstances, such
as frequent sudden deaths, or the continuous dis-
appearance of individuals, as in the case of the victims
of the Human Leopards, arose and baffled the local
fetish, recourse was had to the terrible Tongo player
system, especially if cannibalism was thought to be
at the bottom of the mischief.
"To set this medicine going the intervention of a
most appalling fetish had to be invoked through a
class of medicine people from the upper country
called the Tongo players.
" As soon as the Tongo players had determined to
comply with a request from a chief, they sent out
their emissaries into his towns and villages to obtain
information concerning suspected people. When all
was ready the head of the Tongo, named Buamor
Neppor, attended by his two principal assistants,
Akawa (Big Thing) and Bojuwa (Great Thing) with
their following, arrived in the principal town and
proceeded to clear a space in the bush for their
encampment, where they made their fetish medicine.
This place of concealment was called Mashundu.
" In the investigation one village at a time was
dealt with. A messenger was despatched to call all
the men, women, and children to a meeting to be
held on an appointed day.
22 HUMAN LEOPARDS
" The meeting was held on a cleared space, called
the Korbangai, outside the town, to which the people
had been summoned. They were then drawn up
into line. Their names were called by a spy from
their own village, who was in the pay of the Tongo
players. Certain questions were asked. The names
of suspected persons were then submitted to the
medicine-men, hidden in the bush, who professed to
go through the ordeal by which the guilt or innocence
of these suspected persons might be determined.
The operator's ordeal was the plunging his hand
into a cauldron of boiling oil and pulling out a piece
of hot iron. If the hand was burned, it was certain
proof of guilt ; if not burned, of innocence.
'The victim thus being found out, he was brought
before the head Tongo player, who asked him if he
were prepared to pay money. If he were, time was
allowed for him to send to his family ; meanwhile
he was detained and stocked. Having got as much
as they could out of the man and his family, an excuse
was made, and he was burned to death.
" On some occasions a Tongo play was held. The
players were arrayed in barbaric costume. They
wore a leopard-skin cap, the side flaps of which drooped
over the face, a leopard tail hung down from the
back of the cap, and a sort of door bell was attached
to the end. There was a leopard-skin jacket ; the
wrists, elbows, and ankles were further adorned with
strips of leopard skin ; the whole costume being
completed by short cloth knickers, trimmed with
leopard skin, and leopard-skin gaiters.
" The Tongo players came out and danced ; the
headman and his attendant carried a knobbed staff
TONGO PLAYEKS 23
set with sharp cutting instruments, called the Ton-
gora, which was loosely veiled with leopard skin.
' While dancing the headman and his two atten-
dants suddenly rushed up to the suspected persons
and dealt them heavy blows with the Tongora, blows
which may or may not have killed them at once ;
but whether killed or not they were quickly taken
away and thrown on the fire."
BORFIMA
A word which was constantly heard before the
Special Commission Court was Borfima, the " medi-
cine "preferred to in the Human Leopard" Ordinance.
The word is a contraction of Boreh fima, medicine bag,
and is usually, but not invariably, tightly bound up
in a leather package. This package contains, amongst
other things, the white of an egg, the blood, fat, and
other parts of a human being, the blood of a cock,
and a few grains of rice ; but to make it efficacious it
must occasionally be anointed with human fat and
smeared with human blood. So anointed and smeared,
it is an all-powerful instrument in the hands oj its^
owner, it will make him rich and powerful, it will
make people hold him in honour, it will help him
in cases in the White Man's Court, and it certainly
has the effect of instilling in the native mind great
respect for its owner and a terrible fear lest he should
use it hostilely. An oath administered by the proper
person and with due ceremony upon Borfima is of
the most binding nature, and it was by means of
such oaths that great secrecy was obtained. But
the potency of this great fetish apparently soon
24 HUMAN LEOPARDS
evaporated. Owners of the Borfima found that their
riches did not increase as rapidly as they anticipated,
they lost cases in the Courts, expectations were not
realized with respect to adverse witnesses upon
whose hearts and livers and kidneys imprecations had
been showered all this showed that the Borfima
had become weak and needed resuscitation with
fresh human fat and blood and to obtain this human
fat and blood was the primary object of the Human
Leopard Society.
WITCH-DOCTORS
To give an idea of the mental outlook of the majority
of the natives before the Court, and so that some of
the difficulties under which the prosecution laboured
may be appreciated, allusion should be made to witch-
doctors and oaths.
A witch-doctor holds a high position in a native
community, and is often able to accumulate great
wealth. The practice of this profession is usually
confined to certain families, the secrets of the pro-
fession being handed down from father to son. Only
one member of the family practises at the same time,
although he may have a number of assistants who
are commonly members of his family. Some of these
witch-doctors profess to be able to name and trace
their ancestors back to a remote period. All the
followers of this profession are skilled herbalists and
have some knowledge of surgery, but they profess to
effect cures by the aid of witchcraft. If a native is
ill, it is said that he has been caught by some devil,
and it is the business of the witch-doctor to rid him
WITCH-DOCTOKS 25
of that devil. The witch-doctor knows that certain
devils dislike certain herbs, which, if administered to
the sick person, may have the effect of disgusting the
devil and making it fly away. A devil is frequently
caught and put into a bottle, and then it is for the
patient to say whether he will have it destroyed,
which can only be done by fire, or whether he will
allow it to be released and propitiated by various
offerings, and by such means transform it into a
friendly devil, which he can make use of to injure
some other person. The witch-doctor is frequently
employed by chiefs or other much-married men to
discover whether their numerous wives have been
guilty of acts of infidelity ; they are also frequently
employed to discover the perpetrators of any crime
and the place of concealment of stolen property, and
it is extraordinary what successes they achieve, par-
ticularly in discovering stolen property.
OATHS
Another line of practice in which witch-doctors
excel is the " pulling of swears " anglice, the removal
of oaths. When an oath is taken upon an ordinary
native " medicine/' it is possible for the oath- taker
to be absolved from the consequences of a breach
of his oath by engaging a witch-doctor, who, for a fee
proportionate to the potency of the " medicine " used,
will " pull the swear." This is accomplished by
certain ceremonies performed with other " medicines."
After the " swear has been pulled," the first medicine
has, so to speak, its teeth drawn.
The " medicine " on which pagan Mende witnesses
26 HUMAN LEOPAKDS
were sworn before the Special Commission Court was
compounded every Monday morning by the Court
interpreter, and consisted of a preparation of salt,
pepper and ashes mixed with water. A spoonful of
the mixture was taken by each witness when sworn ;
if there were many witnesses, fresh " medicine " had
to be prepared later in the week. The oath adminis-
tered in the presence of the Court and repeated by
each witness was, in its English translation, as
follows : "I (name of witness) swear by this medicine
to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth. Should I tell a lie, if I go to the farm may
snake bite me, if I travel by canoe may the canoe
sink, and may my belly be swollen. I swear by my
liver, my lungs, my kidneys, and my heart that,
should I tell a lie, may I never be saved, but may I
die suddenly."
CHAPTER III
THE KALE CASE
THE Special Commission Court, consisting of Sir W.
B. Griffith, President, Mr. F. A. Van der Meulen, and
Mr. K. J. Beatty, commenced its sittings at Gbang-
bama in the Northern Sherbro District on the
16th December, 1912.
Gbangbama is a town belonging to the Imperri
Chiefdom, and is situate in the heart of the Mende
country, having, within a radius of ten miles, several
towns where murders committed in connection with
the Human Leopard Society had recently taken place.
The Court was held in a large barri 1 specially
erected for the purpose. The prisoners were confined
in a number of huts surrounded by a stockade, and
were guarded by a company of the West African
Frontier Force. Several members of the Freetown
Bar were present for the purpose of defending various
persons to be tried by the Court.
The first two days were occupied chiefly with legal
questions raised by counsel on the cases before the
Court.
The first case dealt with was the one known as
the KALE CASE, which occupied the time of the Court
for nearly a fortnight, and in which the evidence of a
1 I.e. a thatched roof on wooden posta with thick mud walls about
two feet high.
27
28 HUMAN LEOPARDS
large number of witnesses was taken. Three men l
were charged with the murder in or about the month
of March, 1911, of a boy named Kalfalla, aged about
fourteen years. The murder took place at a village
named Kale, which is situated on the bank of the
Mongheri River opposite the town of Mongheri, both
of which places are within the Jong Chiefdom. The
accused were all headmen and men of importance in
the Chiefdom, and the deceased Kalfalla was the son
of one of them, and was at the time of his death in the
process of being initiated into the Poro.
The three boys who were put in the Poro bush at the
same time as the deceased gave evidence before the
Court, and described how they had been captured by
the Poro Devils and taken to a Poro bush at the town
of Senehun, which was under the control of an impor-
tant person who was described as the Kumrabai
(King-Maker) of the Jong Chiefdom. While they were
in the Senehun Poro bush, two of the accused came
to the Kumrabai and asked that these boys should be
allowed to go to the Kale Poro bush, so that they
should be available to assist in farm work. Permis-
sion was at first refused, but eventually they were
allowed to go, where, in accordance with Poro
custom, they worked out of sight of all women. A
shimbek (i.e. a grass hut with grass walls) was built
in the Kale Poro bush for the boys, and for several
nights they slept in this shimbek.
These three boys stated that one evening the
three prisoners, one of whom was the father of
the deceased, came into the Poro bush and told
1 At the request of the Colonial Office the names of the accused
persons in all the oases have been withheld.
A PORO DEVIL.
THE KALE CASE 29
them that they were to come out of the bush that
night and sleep in the barri (a shelter with low walls)
at the back of a house belonging to one of the accused,
the deceased's father. They described the position in
which they slept, how shortly before daybreak they
were awakened by a noise, and how they saw one of
the prisoners holding the deceased boy by the legs,
whilst another of them, who had a leopard skin over
the top of his head and hanging down his back, was
bending over the body. The boys raised an alarm,
and as the accused ran away they heard sounds
which resembled the pit-a-pat of hurrying feet, and
the impression created was that it was a large number
of persons who were running away from the barri.
Soon after this the father of the murdered boy again
appeared on the scene ; he went immediately to the
barri and appeared to show grief on seeing that his
son was dead. His accomplices next appeared,
followed shortly afterwards by a number of other
men, who assisted in carrying the body to the Poro
bush. Arrived there the accused, together with some
other members of the Society, consulted together or,
as the witnesses described it, " hung head/' It was
agreed to bury the body at once, and the boys were
threatened that if they spoke about the matter
something bad would happen to them ; that if they
were ever asked what had happened to the dead boy
they were to say that a snake had bitten him. The
eldest boy was also sworn on the Borfima not to
reveal what he had seen and heard. This boy
described the oath he took, which was to the effect
that if he revealed this matter and afterwards went
by water he would drown ; if he went into the bush
30 HUMAN LEOPARDS
a snake would bite him ; and if he walked on a road
thunder would strike him. He was further sworn
on his heart and on his kidneys that both would
wither away if he broke his oath.
The boys and several witnesses described the
wounds on the deceased, three of which were in the
throat, and the other on the chest. From the descrip-
tion given of the wounds there could be no doubt
but that they were caused by some sharp instru-
ment, probably a knife, and could not have been
caused by a leopard's claws. The accused, in
accordance with native custom, were compelled to
report the matter to the " Grand Master " of the
Poro, but contrary to native custom they did not
report until after the body was buried. At this
breach of custom the Kumrabai was annoyed, but
he allowed himself to be pacified with a " head of
money " seven country cloths, valued at about
thirty shillings.
Two witnesses who confessed to being members
of the Human Leopard Society were called and gave
an interesting description of their initiation into the
Society. They had joined the Society at different
times, and belonged to different branches of it. One
belonged to the branch in the Imperri Chiefdom,
and the other to a branch in the Gallinas Chiefdom,
several days' march distant, but their description
tallied in almost every detail regarding the initiation
ceremony and the objects of the sacrifice. A mark
is made on a candidate for initiation, usually on the
buttocks, so that it will be concealed by the loin
cloth, the usual and only article of dress worn by
the ordinary native in those parts. The mark is
THE KALE CASE 31
made by piercing the flesh, with an iron needle, raising
it, and shaving off a thin slice of flesh. The wound
is then treated with a medicine known as Nikori,
which apparently has antiseptic qualities, and which
is made by grinding the bark of the wild ground nut.
The blood taken from the wound is put on the
" Borfima," and the novice by this means becomes
what is spoken of as " joined or married to the
medicine/' and a full member of the Society. Meet-
ings are only held when the leaders of the Society
consider that the Borfima belonging to their par-
ticular branch requires what is spoken of as " feed-
ing " or " blooding/' and this can only be done by
the killing of some person. Apparently one of the
rules of the Society is that a victim must be provided
by a member of * the Society ; usually, the person
called upon to provide the victim is a member who
has received some material advancement, such as
becoming a Mahawa (a paramount chief) or a
Mahawuru (sub-chief), as it is considered necessary
on such occasions to propitiate the Borfima, which
is looked upon as all-powerful for good or evil. When
it is arranged who is to provide the victim, a date is
fixed, usually four to six days later, a rendezvous is
decided upon, and the persons who are to do the
killing are selected. The second meeting is generally
fixed for just after dusk, usually in the Poro bush,
and the victim is either enticed to a place in the
vicinity of the meeting-place, or certain members
are appointed to do the killing in the town or village,
and convey the body to the Poro bush, where the
Borfima is first " blooded " and then the body is
divided up among the members, and, according to
32 HUMAN LEOPARDS
the evidence of the ex-members of the Society, the
flesh is either eaten raw on the spot or taken away
and cooked. To use the words of one of these
witnesses, " some like it raw, some roast, and some
prefer it boiled with rice." The witnesses also
described how the members of the Society made
themselves known to each other by a movement of
the second finger across the palm of another person
in shaking hands, and also by a peculiar rolling of
the eyes. Both signs were demonstrated to the
Court. The witnesses examined certain marks in the
buttocks of the three prisoners, and alleged that
they were the marks made at initiation into member-
ship of the Human Leopard Society.
The following, somewhat interesting, point of
native custom was touched on in the evidence :
When a boy who is in the Poro bush dies, the body
is buried there, and his death is not announced to
the female relatives until after the Poro has " been
pulled " (finished). It is the duty of the Lakai (the
head-messenger of the Chiefdom and a high officer
in the Poro) and of him only to announce the death.
When the Poro is about to be " pulled," all the
women who have sons in the Poro bush are made
to stand in a circle at the entrance to the town.
The Lakai is escorted by his retainers into the midst
of them. He carries an earthen pot, and if a death
has occurred among the Poro boys he dashes the
pot to the ground and breaks it at the feet of the
mother of the boy, and in this way announces to her
the death of her son. The women wail for some
hours, after which a funeral dance is given by the
parents or the nearest relatives of the deceased ;
THE KALE CASE 33
and this dance may be kept up for several days and
nights, according to the wealth of the family of the
deceased, who provide the food and drink for the
occasion.
None of these ceremonies were performed in con-
nection with the death of the boy Kalfalla ; but the
omission of these rites was not a matter to which
much weight could be attached, owing to the diffi-
culty of obtaining reliable information on matters
connected with the Poro, and the custom is only
mentioned incidentally.
The defence of the accused was that a bush leopard
had killed the boy. They admitted that they had
concealed this fact and had given out that it was
a snake-bite which had caused the death of the
deceased, but they said that their reason for doing so
was in order to save the father of the deceased, the
first accused in the case, from certain penalties which
he would have incurred had it come to the ears of
the Poro Headman that he had allowed a " bush-
boy " who was still in the Poro to sleep in an open
place outside the Poro bush. The position, shape,
and character of the wounds were emphasized to
show that it must have been a bush leopard which
had caused them, and it was pointed out that it was
an offence against the law of the country for any
one to sleep in an open place exposed to danger,
such as the barri where the boys had been permitted
to sleep. The accused alleged that these " bush-
boys " should not have been allowed to sleep out of
the Poro bush, and that it was an aggravation of the
offence that they had been allowed to sleep in an
open place like a barri ; that the first accused, as
8
34 HUMAN LEOPARDS
head of the family, was the person on whom the
blame would have fallen ; and that he, for these
reasons, persuaded the others to give out that it was
a snake-bite which had caused death. If this was
accepted, they urged, they would not be called on to
show the spot where the boy was injured, and they
added that the burial was hurried so that people
should know as little about it as possible. Had the
burial been delayed, the women might have got to
know, and that would have been a further offence
against Poro law. It was also submitted that it
was contrary to nature that the first accused would
have murdered his own son in such a cold-blooded
manner.
The prisoners were ably defended, but the argu-
ments put forward for the defence did not create
doubt as to the main facts deposed to by the wit-
nesses for the Crown.
From the evidence of the witnesses one thing emerged
conclusively viz. that it was no bush leopard which
killed the boy, but that it was some person or persons
simulating a leopard who murdered him ; and the
evidence of the other boys that they had heard the
pattering of many feet outside the barri when they
raised the alarm pointed to the fact that there were
a number of persons concerned in the murder.
The Court could come to no other conclusion than
that the murder was committed in connection with
the Human Leopard Society, and that the first and
second accused were the actual murderers of the
boy Kalfalla. These two men were found guilty of
murder and sentenced to death, and were publicly
executed at Mattru in the presence of the acting
THE KALE CASE 35
paramount chief and a large number of his people
on the 25th January, 1913.
The third accused, who had taken a prominent part
in concealing the murder, and who was proved to be
leading member of the Human Leopard Society, was
found guilty of being an accessory after the fact to
murder, and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
CHAPTEE IV
THE IMPERRI CASE
THE second case dealt with was the one known as the
Imperri case. Fifty-four persons were charged with
the murder of a boy aged about twenty years. They
were also charged with being accessories after the
fact to murder and further with being members of
an unlawful society : to wit, the Human Leopard
Society.
The murder took place on 13th July, 1912.
The Crown Prosecutor, for want of evidence to
corroborate the story told by accomplices who had
turned King's evidence, only proceeded against fifteen
of these persons on the capital charge.
The case was commenced on the 13th January
and the verdict was given on the 3rd March. Fifty-
nine witnesses gave evidence, and the notes of evidence
taken reached nearly a thousand foolscap pages.
The facts as alleged by the witnesses for the Crown
were as follows :
Very early on the morning of Sunday the 8th July,
1912, the leaders of the Human Leopard Society
met at some place near the town of Victoria, the
chief commercial town in the Imperri Chiefdom,
and decided to hold a general meeting of the Society
that same evening in the Imperri Poro bush. The
Santiggies (messengers) of the Society were despatched
36
THE IMPEREI CASE 37
to warn members to attend, and about sixty of them
met that same evening.
They began to arrive at the rendezvous, which was
a clearing in the centre of the Poro bush, soon after
dark. There was only one path leading into this
clearing, which was surrounded with dense bush,
and on this path were stationed certain executive
members of the Society, who passed the members
along after they were satisfied as to their member-
ship. They proved this chiefly by the peculiar
handshake of the Society.
No lights were allowed at this meeting. Towards
midnight the President of the Society, who owed his
position to his being the most important man in the
Chiefdom, arrived with his staff, and after the names
and rank of the persons present were called, he pro-
ceeded to address the meeting. He announced that
the object of calling members together was to discuss
and consider the question of providing food, or in
other words " blood " and fat, for their medicine.
That it was some time since the parent Borfima
was fed, and that it was necessary that their own
Borfimas should also be blooded and anointed.
A discussion then arose as to the means of pro-
viding the necessary victim. One of the members
present was asked to supply a victim, and when he
demurred it was pointed out to him that it was his
turn to do so by the rules of the Society, and it was
suggested that the person to be supplied should be
his adopted son Yagba. Both this member and the
uncle of the boy Yagba protested strongly, a heated
discussion followed, and finally the two members
in question were informed that unless they im-
38 HUMAN LEOPABDS
mediately consented to give the boy asked for, either
one or both of them would take his place. Under fear
of this threat they consented.
It was then arranged that the members should
meet again on the Friday following, and both the
father and uncle of the promised victim were warned
that if the boy disappeared or there was any difficulty
about obtaining him one of them would be taken
instead. After nominating two of the members
to do the killing and others to convey the body to
the Poro bush the meeting was adjourned.
On the following Thursday a boy died in the town
of Imperri and his body was buried next day. In the
ordinary course of events there would have been a
funeral dance that evening, but fearing that it might
interfere with their projects, some of the members
of the Human Leopard Society secured its post-
ponement.
As it grew dark that evening, the members of the
Society gathered together in the Poro bush. The
members deputed to do the killing were dressed in
their regalia of leopard skin.
As the evening wore on and the time for sleep came,
the boy Yagba, under instructions from his uncle,
spread his mat on the verandah of the latter's house
and lay down and eventually went to sleep. About
midnight the two murderers arrived and crept on all
fours up to where Yagba was lying. One of them
held him while the other stabbed him in the neck
with a knife. Death was not instantaneous, and the
boy moaned and beat the ground with his feet. This
awakened some women and a youth who were in
the house, and their screams aroused the whole town.
STOCKADE SURROUNDING GBANGBAMA PRISON AND GUARD HOUSE.
PRISONERS AWAITING TRIAL, GBANGBAMA PRISON.
THE IMPEKRI CASE 39
An attempt was made by the two murderers to drag
the body away, but as a number of people rushed out
of their houses they gave up their attempt and fled
into the bush where they warned the others of what
had happened and got rid of their leopard-skin dress.
The members belonging to the town hastened to get
back to their houses before their absence should be
discovered.
The townspeople collected round the body of the
murdered boy and kept saying to each other, " What
is this trouble ? " " What has happened ? " The
uncle of the boy, who had been beside him the whole
time and who appeared to be very upset at seeing
the body, said in reply to the questions on all sides
that koribrah (leopard people) had killed him. He
was taken aside by some of the accused, and the
seriousness of his admission pointed out to him.
He was told to say that owing to distress of mind he
did not know what he was saying, that what he
really meant to say was that it was a bush leopard
that had killed the boy, and that he himself had seen
two leopards rushing out of the town after the alarm
had been raised. He was promised a sum of money
if the matter was hushed up on the basis of the
death being attributed to a bush leopard, but it was
incidentally mentioned to him that if he did not
succeed in creating this belief the town would in all
probability lose another of its citizens, as their
Borfima had not yet been fed, and they would, in a
certain event, know where to look for a victim. The
story was then circulated that it was a bush leopard
that had killed the boy ; and there was some confir-
mation of this story by the statements of some women
40 HUMAN LEOPARDS
and boys who said they saw what looked like
a leopard running away after the alarm had been
given. From the evidence it appeared that these
people had mistaken the murderers in their dresses
of leopard skins for real leopards, which are numer-
ous in the vicinity.
About 6.30 the following morning the clerk to the
District Commissioner overheard a man at the town
of Gbangbama tell a friend that a bush leopard had
killed some one at the town of Imperri the night
before. The clerk immediately proceeded with some
police or, as they are called in the Protectorate, Court
Messengers to the town of Imperri, and arrived there
soon after 8 a.m. They were met by the chief men
of the town and taken to view the body of the boy
Yagba, several of the accused being present and
volunteering the information that a bush leopard
had killed the deceased. The Court Messengers, as
a preliminary step, took into custody all the people
who occupied the house where the deceased had
been killed, including the uncle of the boy. Mean-
while a vigorous search was prosecuted to find the
spoor of a leopard, but none was to be found in or
about the town. His uncle was then taken on one
side by the clerk and Court Messengers and in view
of the nature of the wounds and the fact that there
were no signs of any leopard was asked to explain
how the boy had come by his death.
It was clear, owing to the nature of the wounds,
that no leopard had killed the boy ; and, faced with
this fact and his admission of the night before, he
gave an account of the murder and the names of the
persons concerned in it. As many of these persons
THE IMPERRI CASE 41
as could then be found were forthwith taken into
custody, the others were subsequently arrested, and
after a preliminary examination before the District
Commissioner all were committed for trial.
The chief testimony against the accused was that
of two accomplices who had turned informers. These
men confessed to being members of the Human
Leopard Society and as having been present at the
murders of several victims of the Society. They
gave evidence to the effect that all the accused bore
the mark of the Leopard Society. The mark on each
of the accused was pointed out during the hearing of
the case, but although there were certain peculiarities
about the mark, and although its position on the
person of each of the accused was in most instances
approximately the same, yet, owing to the fact that
the majority of them had other marks, similar in
shape and colour, some doubt existed as to whether
the marks pointed out were really the marks received
on initiation into the Society.
After hearing the evidence, no one could doubt
that a murder had been committed, and that that
murder had been committed by members of the
Human Leopard Society. Their plans miscarried,
they were disturbed at their work by the cries of the
occupants of the house ; the actual murderers finished
their work, but those deputed to carry away the
body failed, the uninitiated in the village awakened,
and saw what had happened, and it was too late
to remove the body. The question then followed
as to whether the persons charged were those who
had actually committed or who had taken part in
the murder. The evidence of the accomplices was
42 HUMAN LEOPAEDS
strong, but the chief difficulty in regard to the case
for the Crown was to obtain corroboration of the
evidence of these accomplices. In cases of this sort
where the principal men are bound together by the
bonds of guilt as well as of secrecy, where the victim
is provided by the head of the family, who, instead of
ferreting out the crime, uses all his influence to have
the matter hushed up, and where the whole people
cower down in dread of the terrible vengeance
threatened by the awe-inspiring Borfima, it is not to
be wondered at that it is exceptional to be able to
procure independent evidence. The relatives, even
the mother of the victim, will not come forward
willingly, and when such witnesses are forced to give
evidence they will only say what they think is non-
committal, and from that they will not budge. They
look upon the " medicine " as being responsible, and
hold the view that the members of the Society are
forced into killing a victim in order to " feed " the
Borfima.
In this case, however, many of the non-committal
statements pieced together formed important cor-
roborative evidence, and that, together with other
evidence, satisfied the Court as to the guilt of six of
the accused, who were found guilty of murder.
The sentence on four of them was publicly carried
out at the town of Imperri on 18th April, 1913. The
fifth and sixth, who were domestic slaves, were also
found guilty of murder and sentenced to death, but
the sentences, on the recommendation of the Court,
were afterwards commuted by the Governor-in-
Council to life imprisonment. The Lavari to the
principal accused was found guilty of being an acces-
PC
K
THE IMPEKKI CASE 43
sory after the fact to the murder and was sentenced
to life imprisonment.
There is little doubt that but for the chance over-
hearing by the District Commissioner's clerk that a
boy had been killed by a leopard this crime would
never have been brought to light. After a time,
when all trace of evidence had vanished, it would
have been given out that the boy had been killed
by a bush leopard. And this story would have been
all the more difficult to disprove from the fact that
in that neighbourhood leopards abound. Within
a few hundred yards of where the Court sat was
a leopard trap, whilst during the hearing of this
particular case at least two leopards were shot within
a mile of the Court barri.
CHAPTER V
THE KABATI CASE
THE next case dealt with was the one known as the
Kabati Case, from the village where the murder took
place. In this and the following cases Lieut. -Colonel
H. G. Warren sat in place of Mr. Van der Meulen,
who proceeded on leave.
Originally fifty-six persons had been charged and
committed for trial on a charge of murder.
The person murdered was a young woman named
Mini, and the murder took place in or about the
month of May, 1911, at Kabati, a small village in the
Northern Sherbro District of the Protectorate.
As in the previous case, sufficient corroborative
evidence to support the stories told by accomplices,
who were the chief witnesses for prosecution, could
not be obtained, and the Crown Prosecutor decided to
proceed against only three of the prisoners, entering
a nolle prosequi on the capital charge against the
remainder. These latter were subsequently prose-
cuted, and a number of them were found guilty of
being members of an unlawful society.
Of the three men proceeded against two were men
of importance in the Protectorate ; the first accused
was a paramount chief or Mahawa, and the second
was a sub-chief or Mahawuru, the third accused being
a brother of the Mahawuru. The girl Mini was
44
THE KABATI CASE 45
weak in intellect, but to what extent it was not easy
on the evidence to say. She was the niece of the
second accused, the Mahawuru, and for some time
prior to the murder had formed a member of his
household. The story told by the witnesses for the
Crown was as follows :
Some time toward the end of May, 1911, a meeting
of the members of the Human Leopard Society was
convened and held one evening at Mosenge, a deserted
village on the borders of the Imperri and the Jong
Chiefdoms, and was attended by most of the members
belonging to that particular branch of the Society.
Soon after dark the members began to arrive, and
after giving the countersign were admitted to the
meeting. A small fire was lighted, round which the
members sat. Three Mahawas or paramount chiefs
were present, and they with other big men of the
Society sat in front with their subjects, in order of
precedence, immediately behind them. When all
those summoned were assembled, the second accused
the girl Mini's uncle was elected Mahein (presiding
officer) of the meeting. He first called the names
of all the principal men, who answered to their names.
The senior member then, in accordance with the cus-
tom, said to the second accused, "You " mentioning
his name " have called a meeting of the members of
this Society, which should not meet except when
important business is to be done ; we therefore look
to you now to tell us what that important business is/'
The second accused, after walking three times round
the circle, proceeded to address the meeting. He
said, " The spirits have spoken to me and told me
that unless we want something bad to happen to us
46 HUMAN LEOPARDS
we should put blood on our Borfimas when four days
and four nights have passed. I invite you all to
meet again, and at that meeting I myself will supply
a person whose blood will satisfy the hunger of the
Borfima."
In answer to inquiry the second accused further
informed those present that the person he proposed
to give would be his niece Mini, whom he stated had
a devil in her. Then after some discussion as to how
the murder was to be carried out and after details
had been arranged the meeting broke up.
On the evening of the fourth day after this the
members of the Society reassembled at Mosenge, and
about sixty persons were present. When all the
expected guests had arrived, the second accused, who
was still Mahein, called over as before the names of
those present. It was arranged that they should
remain at Mosenge until it was sufficiently late for
ordinary villagers to have retired for the night.
Towards midnight a move was made in the direction
of Kabati, which was about three miles distant, and
on their arrival at the outskirts of the village they
were led to some bush, where they were told to sit
down. The second accused, who was the Mahawuru
of Kabati, and his brother then went into the village,
and were quickly followed by members wearing the
regalia in the form of the leopard skin of the Society.
The woman Mini had for some days previous to this
been sleeping alone in a room at the back of her
uncle's house, at some distance from where his wives
and the other members of his household slept, and
one of his domestic slaves, who for the purpose of
performing menial acts had been made a member of
THE KABATI CASE 47
the Society, was placed on guard over her. On this
man signalling that all was well the second accused
went into the room and quickly awakened the girl,
who followed him down the bush path to where
the other members were waiting. She came quite
quietly, and did not appear to realize that anything
unusual was occurring. It was stated by persons
present that a firi (a horse tail elaborately decorated
with sebbehs) and an Aku (Yoruba) cap to which
more sebbehs (charms) were attached were then
produced by two important members of the Society,
and that a certain ceremony was gone through which
included the pointing of these things at the girl.
It was then announced that members present need
not feel any alarm in regard to what was going to
happen, as the ceremony performed would have the
effect of warding off suspicion and would assist them
in concealing what was going to happen that
night.
It was alleged that the third accused then went
behind the girl and stabbed her in the side with a
large knife. She fell forward, and was immediately
seized by four men and hurriedly carried farther
along the path to a small clearing. The other
members of the Society fell in behind. The body
was deposited near where the Society's " medicine/'
the Borfima, had been placed, and veins of the victim's
throat were opened so that the blood might flow over
the " medicine/'
After the parent Borfima had been blooded, a few
persons who were sufficiently important to be able
to keep their own Borfimas advanced in order of
seniority and collected a few drops of blood on their
48 HUMAN LEOPARDS
" medicine " which they had brought with them
for that purpose.
Two men were then nominated to cut up the body.
The belly was first cut open and flapped over the
chest and the interior organs were removed. The
breasts were then cut away and given to one of the
Mahawas (chiefs), and part of the belly, the finger and
toe-nails and the scalp containing the hair were given
to the first accused. The heart was set aside to be
sent to an important and educated member, who was
represented at the feast, but who did not wish to be
present himself. The more important persons present
named in turn the particular piece of flesh they
wanted, and the remainder of the body was divided
among those of lesser importance. A fire was lighted,
over which a certain quantity of flesh was cooked,
but a number of the members appeared to have vied
with each other in seeing what quantity of raw flesh
they could eat. The bones, after being picked clean,
were left lying near the spot, and the " empty skull "
was thrown down an incline towards a stream some
twenty or thirty yards away.
On the 30th May, as near as could be calculated
by the phases of the moon as described by the wit-
nesses, the Lavari of the second accused approached
him and mentioned that he had a matter to discuss
with him in the presence of the other big men of the
town. A meeting was immediately called, and those
summoned assembled under a cocoa-nut tree near the
compound of the second accused, who, as has been
already stated, was Mahawuru or sub-chief of Kabati
village. The Lavari, who was an old man and of some
importance in the village, said that he had summoned
THE KABATI CASE 49
those present, as it had been brought to his notice
that the girl Mini was missing ; that apparently no
effort had been made to find her ; that trouble had
been caused in the past by persons disappearing ;
and that as they did not wish to be viewed with sus-
picion by the Government Authorities they should
make every effort to trace the missing girl. The
second accused said that it was true that his niece
was missing, but that he did not know that there was
any occasion for alarm, as the girl was crazy, and
that she had disappeared before and had been found
without much difficulty ; that she had probably
gone to her parents at the town of Yandehun ; that
he was quite able to look after his own affairs, and
that if he had wanted the help of the people of the
town he would have asked for it ; that he looked
upon it as oinciousness on the part of his Lavari to
have interfered in a matter connected with his house-
hold ; and he added that there was nothing they need
do but " beg him " (apologize to him) for making a
lot of unnecessary trouble. That evening he left
the town and was absent for some days. On his
return he summoned the people together to the
village court barri and said that some one, whose
name he had not yet been able to ascertain, had been
to the village of Makelpe and had spread a report
that he had sacrificed his niece, and he angrily asked
who had done this. Of course every one denied hav-
ing said anything, and some discussion arose between
the people and himself as to why he had not told
them at the time of the disappearance of his niece.
One of those present expostulated with him for his
callous conduct in not having caused a general search
50 HUMAN LEOPAEDS
to have been made immediately after it was noticed
that the girl was missing. To this he replied that
he had told certain persons ; but these persons, on
being referred to, stated that it was not till after
they had commented on the girl's disappearance
that he had mentioned anything about her being
missing.
At this meeting it was decided that all the young
men of the town should search the fakais (farm
villages) round about, and search-parties were then
and there formed. It should be mentioned in con-
nection with this meeting that a rumour had reached
the town that the disappearance of the girl had been
reported to the Government, and this probably
accounts for the strong action taken by the people
in expressing dissatisfaction with their Mahawuru.
Towards the evening of the same day, whilst the
people were searching, the sound of " bugles " was
heard, and two paramount chiefs arrived from oppo-
site directions with their followers simultaneously in
the town. One of these was the Mahawa or para-
mount chief of Imperri ; the other was the Mahawa
or paramount chief of Jong, and was the first accused.
It was about this time that the third accused dis-
appeared from the town. The two Mahawas (to give
them their native titles) announced that they had
been sent by the District Commissioner to investigate
the circumstances connected with the disappearance
of the missing girl, and they said that they had been
instructed to see that a proper search was made.
Before the Special Commission Court witnesses swore
that both these Mahawas were actually present at
the murder, but the people of the town of Kabati at
^
- * -
*m
i . ^ .-.
-
THE KABATI CASE 51
that time seem to have had no suspicion that either
of them was in any way connected with the dis-
appearance of the girl, or that they were members
of the notorious Human Leopard Society. The
Mahawas then ordered the arrest of all the big men
of the town, who, including the second accused, were
detained in a barri whilst the remainder of the
townspeople were instructed to continue searching ;
but no trace of deceased was found that day.
The next day search was continued and some bones
were found. The Mahawas went to see these bones,
which were less than half a mile from the town, and
every one appears to have agreed that they were the
bones of the missing girl.
Some of the people appeared to have had infor-
mation that the Assistant District Commissioner was
on his way from the town of Victoria, which was
then his headquarters, to visit the town of Kabati,
and he arrived there soon after the discovery of the
bones. He was taken to where the bones were along
a path that had been newly cut through the bush,
but he noticed what looked like an old path leading
from the place where the bones were found, and that
the bush round the spot appeared to have been
cleared at some recent date ; this, however, was
explained by pointing to a farm on the other side of
the stream, and by saying the people had probably
come there to cut sticks to build a farm-house. He
noticed a black patch about a yard in diameter, and
remarked that there had been a fire there, but one
of the Mahawas (the first accused in the case) remarked
that that was where the body had rotted.
The Assistant District Commissioner stated in his
52 HUMAN LEOPAEDS
evidence that on one side of the black patch were
some bones which looked like leg bones, and piled
on them were other small bones, and he said that from
their position they must have been so placed by human
agency. They were just as if people had been gather-
ing sticks. There were other bones scattered about
within a radius of fifteen yards ; the bones were
dry, and he found no marks upon them ; he thought
that the thigh bones were attached to the pelvis, and
the greater portion of the spinal column was intact.
He made a careful search for clothing and beads, but
there was no trace of any. He said that on the way
to the bones the first accused told him that the girl
was crazy and had gone into the bush and died.
After seeing the bones and ordering them to be
collected, the Assistant District Commissioner asked
for the skull, and was told that it was at the foot of
the hill near a stream just below the bones. He
went there with the first accused and others, and
found the skull at the edge of the stream in a spot so
exposed that it was visible for about twenty yards
inside the farm across the stream. The skull was
absolutely clean, bleached, and " perfectly dry/' At
the top of one jaw, level with the ear, the bone was
broken. There was no doubt in the minds of any
of the witnesses that these were the bones of the
girl Mini. No further trace of her was hinted at and
no cross-examination was directed to that point.
The Assistant District Commissioner then released
all the villagers who had been arrested except the
second accused, the uncle of the deceased. He also
held an inquiry into the circumstances of the girl's
disappearance, and, as the result, took the second
THE KABATI CASE 53
accused in custody to Victoria. Being unable, how-
ever, to obtain any evidence to connect him with
the death of the girl Mini, the Assistant District
Commissioner placed the matter in the hands of the
Mahawa of Jong, the first accused, who found that
his Mahawuru, the second accused, had failed to
report the disappearance of his niece, and fined
him fifty pounds and deposed him from his
office of Mahawuru. There, for the time, the
matter ended.
In July, 1912, the Imperri murder already dealt
with took place. The murderers were disturbed at
their work, and one of their number on whom sus-
picion was cast when called upon for explanation
admitted that it was a leopard murder, and mentioned
the names of several persons who were implicated.
He was brought to Gbangbama on the 15th July,
1912, having previously confessed to being a member
of the Human Leopard Society and as having been
present at the meetings where the murder was
arranged. A number of names were mentioned by
him in connection with this murder, and amongst
them was that of the second accused. Facts with
respect to previous murders were then elicited ; but
although he mentioned a great many names he did
not mention those of the two Mahawas or paramount
chiefs as having been present at any of those murders.
This mentioning of names continued up to the 25th
July when his various statements were reduced to
writing. This writing was witnessed by the two
Mahawas concerned, who, up till that time, had
retained the confidence of the Government Officers.
On Monday the 29th July the District Commissioner
54 HUMAN LEOPARDS
had an interview with the informer for the first time
without the presence of the Mahawas, and something
was said which induced the District Commissioner
to order forthwith the arrest of one of them, the first
accused. At once Court Messengers were sent to
search his quarters in Gbangbama town. They
found in a box in his house a chewing-stick of a
peculiar kind, a cap with sebbehs (charms), and an
envelope containing human hair, and in a gown
hanging close to his bed they found a small packet
containing nine parings of human nails. His house
at Mattru was also searched, and there was found a
firi (i.e. a horse tail with cloth wrapped round the
handle) and another packet containing eighteen
parings of human finger and toe-nails. All these
articles he admitted were his property, with the
exception of the sebbeh cap.
In this case, too, evidence was given as to the
alleged leopard marks upon the three accused. But
this evidence as to marks broke down. In the first
place, the witnesses were not in agreement as to the
alleged leopard marks upon the accused ; secondly,
the medical evidence was not convincing ; thirdly,
some other prisoners were produced by the defence
with a number of marks which to the ordinary eye
more or less corresponded with the so-called leopard
mark, one of these men being literally covered with
small-pox marks, some of which were not unlike the
so-called leopard mark ; fourthly, a mark produced
by the Government Medical Officer, in accordance
with the directions of one of the expert witnesses,
was quite unlike the so-called leopard mark ; and
finally a number of girls and boys, whose ages ranged
THE KABATI CASE 55
from seven to sixteen years, were produced by the
defence with marks, 1 as far as the ordinary person
could judge, exactly corresponding with the so-called
leopard mark.
There is little doubt that members of the Human
Leopard Society are marked on entering into the
Society, but such marks are so like the marks left by
wounds caused by accident or disease that it is not
possible for any ordinary person to distinguish, with
any certainty, the difference between them.
The defence of the first accused, the Mahawa of
Jong, was that the story of the informer, so far as he
was concerned, was absolutely devoid of truth, and
that at the time of the alleged murder he was suffer-
ing from the effects of boils under his arm so that he
was unable to move about ; he gave evidence per-
porting to show that the possession of the firi, the
chewing-stick, the nails and hair was perfectly lawful,
and stated that the sebbeh cap was neither his pro-
perty nor was it found in any of his boxes ; whilst he
produced official testimony with a view to showing
that he was earnestly striving to eradicate cannibal
murder from his chiefdom.
Furthermore he alleged that the chief witness had
a special ill feeling towards him because of a land
dispute between the Kabati and Imperri people, and
that he had only mentioned his name in connection
with this matter after compulsion on the part of the
District Commissioner. He further stated that some
time after his election as Mahawa certain villages,
including Kabati, which had been a part of Imperri
1 Not artificial marks, but scars, the result of ulcers induced by larva
of the tumbo fly or of bruises obtained when working in the bush.
56 HUMAN LEOPARDS
Chiefdom, were transferred to his Chiefdorn. He
stated that it was well known that cannibal murder
was rife in these villages, but that it was unknown
in the other parts of his chiefdom. He pointed out
that to put a stop to cannibalism he had made certain
rules with regard to strangers reporting their presence
in villages, as to people not sleeping outside a house,
as to proper doors for houses and such like. He had
also assisted the Government in the Mochach murder
about September, 1910, and in the Sawura murder
in 1911, and had done what he could at the request
of the District Commissioner to elucidate the facts
in this very case. He drew attention to the fact that
the second accused had been handed over to him to
be dealt with in accordance with country law, and
that he was sent for by the Government Authorities
to assist in the Imperri case, when he did all he could
to elicit information from the very informer who was
now giving evidence against him.
The firi,he stated, was an heirloom and appurtenant
to his office, and witnesses for the prosecution ad-
mitted that big Mahawas do possess firis, which are
used as the credentials of important messengers. He
explained that the chewing-stick was a present from
a Muhammedan to whom he had rendered some
service, and that the Arabic text found in the wrapper
was nothing more than an invocation that none but
seasonable words might drop from the lips of him who
used it.
As to the hair found in his house, it seemed clear
that many persons, even educated persons in Free-
town, have a superstition about their hair being left
about, and take precautions to have it disposed of in
THE KABATI CASE 57
such a way that nobody can get possession of it.
Strong " medicines " are supposed to be made with
human hair, and with this " medicine " injury can
be inflicted on the person from whom the hair was
obtained. He said that soon after he arrived at
Gbangbama he had his hair cut and that he kept it
pending his return to Mattru, where he intended to
have it destroyed. Finger and toe-nails also appear
to be capable of malevolent use, and should not be
left lying about ; he said that he had cut his finger-
nails just before he left Mattru, and had put the parings
carefully in his gown, intending to get rid of them
later, but forgot about them, and that was how they
came to be in the pocket of his gown when his quarters
were searched. As to those found at Mattru, he
stated that the wife who assisted him when cutting
them must have put them away in the small box
in which they were found, that that box used to
stand upon his table, and that his wife must have
forgotten them, but that they were quite safe, as the
box was the one in which he used to keep his pocket
cash and was usually locked.
The sebbeh cap he denied the ownership of. He
stated that it belonged to an Aku or Yoruba medicine
man who came to Gbangbama about the same time
as himself, that this man placed the box containing
the cap in his house, and that the cap was not found
with his things, but in another box altogether. This
statement was to some extent supported by the fact
that the sebbehs when opened did not, as was ex-
pected, contain Arabic texts, but only black powder
and tree bark, and he called as his witness the Yoruba
man to whom he alleged the cap belonged.
58 HUMAN LEOPAEDS
The defence of the second accused, the girl's uncle,
was that Mini was of weak intellect, and that during
a period of insanity she had wandered into the bush,
and, not being able to find her way out, had died
there. He stated that she first became insane after
the birth of her second child, and that she became
so violent that she had to be put in the stocks. He
said that he obtained and had given her some sacred
water and a charm which cured her for a time, that
she subsequently lost the charm and became insane
again, and could not be made to wear any clothes,
that he was absent from Kabati at the time she
disappeared, and that on his return he had made
every effort to find her.
The third accused's defence was that he had left
Kabati about six weeks before the girl's disappear-
ance and was absent in another chiefdom at the time
of her disappearance ; that on the 10th June, 1911,
he arrived at Yandehun, where he had a " wife," and
then for the first time heard of what had happened
in Kabati, whither he immediately returned.
The prisoners were defended by counsel, and forty-
five witnesses were examined in the case.
The chief witness for the Crown was the accomplice
who had turned informer. His evidence on one or
two points one could not help regarding with suspicion,
though on the other hand he gave his evidence freely ;
he was quite open, there was little hesitancy, he did
not shelter himself under generalities, but was always
prepared to go into details. In view of the fact that
he had given evidence upon so many different occa-
sions, and that he had to keep in mind so many
different meetings, one was struck with the small
THE KABATI CASE 59
number of inconsistencies, and every now and then
it was noticeable how two unconnected details fitted
in with the rest of the evidence ; then the further he
was cross-examined the more truthful did his narra-
tive appear, matters which seemed doubtful at first
were cleared up, and at the end his evidence seemed
stronger than at the beginning, and formed a marked
contrast to the evidence of many of the other wit-
nesses. Finally an inspection of the locus in quo
tended to confirm his testimony. But this witness
being an accomplice, corroboration of his evidence as
to each of the accused was necessary before the
question could be considered as to whether or not
the accused were guilty of murder. There was ample
corroboration as to the circumstances of the murder,
and that it was committed by members of the Human
Leopard Society, but in addition to this it was neces-
sary that there should be corroboration of the evidence
of the accomplices as to the identity of each of the
persons charged.
On the question whether it was proved that the
first accused, the Mahawa or paramount chief, took
part in the murder of the girl Mini the Court was
divided and the majority were in favour of a verdict
of NOT GUILTY. This man was, however, deposed
from the chieftainship, and has, on the recommenda-
tion of the majority of the Court, in accordance with
the provisions of the Special Commission Court
Ordinance, been expelled from the Colony and Pro-
tectorate of Sierra Leone.
There was ample corroboration as well as strong
circumstantial evidence against the second accused,
the uncle of deceased, and he was found guilty of
60 HUMAN LEOPARDS
murder and publicly executed at Imperri on the
2nd June, 1913.
There was some doubt as to the identity of the
third accused. Another person of the same name
appears to have figured prominently in the conferences
of the Society. He was therefore found not guilty
and discharged.
CHAPTER VI
THE YANDEHUN CASE
THIS case was one which created exceptional interest
locally by reason of the fact that the accused was a
minister of religion and a man well known in the
Colony and Protectorate. He was connected with
the United Brethren in Christ Mission and had been
a minister of religion since 1878.
The accused, who was defended by four members
of the Freetown Bar, was first charged with the
capital crime of murder, but after some evidence had
been given the Crown Prosecutor realized that he had
not sufficient evidence to secure a conviction on that
charge, and intimated that he proposed to call no
further evidence, whereupon a formal verdict of
Not Guilty was recorded.
The accused was then proceeded against on the fol-
lowing charges (i) of being a member of the Human
Leopard Society on or before the 5th November,
1912, the date of the Human Leopard Amendment
Ordinance, 1912, and (ii) with having taken part
in the operations of an unlawful society on the
17th October, 1909.
The accused had apparently been well educated,
and whilst he was in the witness-box it was difficult to
conceive how a man <jf his stamp could possibly be
61
62 HUMAN LEOPARDS
connected with a cannibal society ; on the other
hand, it was undisputed that he had permitted him-
self to be elected Mahawa (paramount chief) of one
of the chiefdoms in the Protectorate, and had acted
in that capacity from 1899 to 1905, which connotes
much; and he stated that he only ceased to be
Mahawa after his trial upon a charge of cannibal
murder which took place before a judge and jury in
Bonthe in 1905.
The case for the prosecution depended chiefly upon
the evidence of two informers. Upon the depositions
their testimony was corroborated by the evidence of
two witnesses, one of whom was a petty trader and
the other a teacher in another branch of the United
Brethren in Christ Mission, but, as these witnesses
when before the Special Commission Court swore
that their previous statements were false, the case
for the prosecution was left to depend almost solely
upon the evidence of the two informers.
These two informers stated that towards the last
quarter of 1909 (cutting-rice time) a meeting of the
Human Leopard Society was called near Yandehun
for the purpose of arranging for a certain newly
appointed Mahawuru (sub-chief) to provide a victim
to celebrate his appointment. At that meeting a
number of important persons were present, and it
was settled that the Mahawuru should give a girl to
whom he stood in loco parentis, and that the murder
should take place on the evening of the fourth day
from that.
On the evening arranged the two informers and
many others arrived at the appointed place, the
Mahawuru enticed the girl to the spot, and he and his
Hi m
.
A SELF-CONFESSED CANNIBAL.
THE YANDEHUN CASE 63
Lavari set upon her and killed her. Her body was
divided up and one of the informers was despatched
with a portion of the girl's flesh to the accused and
another member who had not attended the meeting.
He handed over this flesh to this other member and
asked him to give the accused his portion.
The next morning the informer went to the town
of Victoria and saw the accused at the French Com-
pany's Factory, and informed him that he had been
sent to ask him whether he had received a share of
the " meat " that was sent for him, to which the
accused replied that he had received it. The informer
stated that the accused then said, " All right, I am
now going. I only came for that purpose/' and that
the accused then took the road leading in the direction
of Mobundo (New London), which is situated farther
down the river and is one of the starting-places
when going by water to Bonthe.
If that story was true, there could be no doubt
that the " meat " was a portion of the body of the
murdered girl, and an admission by the accused to
a member of the Human Leopard Society that he
had received such " meat " would have been con-
clusive proof that he was a member of that Society.
Both the informers also stated that they saw one
of the witnesses, a petty trader, at the French Com-
pany's Factory on that particular occasion, and also
the school-teacher referred to. That was prac-
tically all, apart from proof of the girl's disappear-
ance at the time in question, that the prosecution
could prove at the trial.
Upon the depositions, however, the case was
much stronger. At the preliminary investigation in
64 HUMAN LEOPARDS
the District Commissioner's Court the previous Sep-
tember the petty trader referred to stated that about
two and a half years before September, 1912, early
one morning he saw one of the informers and the
accused coming out of the French Company's Store.
He further said that he got the school-teacher referred
to to write a letter to a person at Moyamba, but he
did not actually connect this letter with the day on
which he saw the informer and the accused together.
He admitted that the school-teacher had written a
letter for him, that he took this letter to a person at
Moyamba, and that just before he started for Moyamba
with that letter he went to the French Company's
Store to get some provisions ; but he denied, when
before the Special Commission Court, having seen
either the informer or the accused there.
The school-teacher in his depositions at the pre-
liminary investigation in September, 1912, gave
important corroborative evidence. He there said that
the accused came to Victoria on the 17th October,
1909, and stayed the night with him ; that the
accused went out about 9 p.m. and returned about
10 p.m. with two persons (who had since been
executed for leopard murder), and that these two
stayed with him for about a quarter of an hour ;
that next morning the accused went to the French
Company's Factory and came back to the house ;
that he asked the accused to stay and preach for him,
but the accused said " No," that he was in haste, as
the Government, since his previous trial, never allowed
him to come to Victoria, and the witness fixed the
date by saying that the petty trader came to him the
same morning to have the above-mentioned letter
THE YANDEHUN CASE 65
written. This letter was produced and identified, and
was dated 18th October, 1909. At this preliminary
investigation this witness, when cross-examined by
counsel for the accused, said further, " I am certain
that the accused slept at Victoria on the night of
October 17th, 1909." He also said in cross-examina-
tion that he was certain that accused came there
only for the purpose of collecting subscriptions for
the Mission to which he belonged, and that on this
occasion he got a subscription from at least one other
person besides himself. But before the Special Com-
mission Court all this was changed. The keystone
of the accused's defence was that his collections at
Victoria were made on or about the 17th December,
1909, and that he only paid this one visit to Victoria
during the year 1909, and these two witnesses, when
before the Special Commission Court, made their
evidence fit in with this defence.
The school-teacher witness was married to a niece
of the accused, and both he and the petty trader
witness admitted having gone back on their state-
ments about seeing the accused in Victoria in October,
1909, after an interview with the son of the accused
who was also connected with the United Brethren in
Christ Mission. 1
The introduction of outside influences to vary the
evidence of important witnesses for the prosecution
gave rise to grave suspicion, but the net result so far
as the actual charges were concerned was that the
prosecution was left without corroboration of the
evidence of the accomplices.
1 These two witnesses were subsequently prosecuted for perjury
before the Circuit Court and found guilty.
5
66 HUMAN LEOPARDS
Had the only issue before the Court been the
charges recorded, it is possible that counsel for the
defence would not have called any witnesses, but would
have claimed a verdict upon the evidence ; but the
Court drew attention to Section 11 of the Special
Commission Court Ordinance, 1912, which declared
that notwithstanding an acquittal, if the Court is of
opinion that it is expedient for the security, peace, or
order of the district that the acquitted person should
be expelled therefrom, the Court shall report to the
Governor, who may expel such person from the
Colony and Protectorate accordingly.
Counsel for the defence therefore decided not to let
the matter rest there, but to call evidence so as to
exonerate the accused completely if it were possible
to do so.
The accused himself first went into the witness-
box and proved by letters to persons connected with
his Mission in Freetown that in September, 1909, he
had arranged to make a tour of his district early in
October. He gave evidence to the effect that he
started on the 20th October, proceeded up certain
rivers some distance from Victoria, and that he
remained in those parts preaching and giving magic-
lantern entertainments, with the object of obtaining
subscriptions for his mission, until early in December,
when he came to New London (Mobundo), which he
reached on the morning of the 7th December, 1909.
He related how he had gone to the school-teacher's
house at Victoria and then to the French Company's
Factory and then to one King, and how he had got
subscriptions, only spending an hour or two at
Victoria. He stated that he then walked to the out-
THE YANDEHUN CASE 67
lying villages and obtained subscriptions from persons
named Nicoll and Cole, that he then returned to
New London, where he picked up his boat and started
home for Bonthe, which he reached early on the
morning of the 8th December. In corroboration of
his story he produced the subscription book which
he kept during the tour, and in which there can be
little doubt that the names of King, Powell, Nicoll,
and Cole written by themselves appear in their due
places after the subscriptions given during the earlier
period of the tour.
These subscriptions seemed to be perfectly genuine,
the entries of the names seemed perfectly genuine, the
whole book bore every appearance of being quite
genuine. King and Nicoll, two respectable traders,
proved their signatures in the book and said that
they put them there in December 1909. In some
details the evidence of King was inconsistent with
that of the accused and his boatman, but this pointed
to little more than that there had been no collusion.
Several servants of the accused were also called
as witnesses for the defence, and a number of dis-
crepancies were found to exist in the various accounts
given of the circumstances connected with the trip
to Victoria a matter not without importance, as one
at least of these servants would probably have
accompanied the accused if he visited Victoria in
October as well as December.
One thing was quite clear : viz., that the accused
was at Victoria in or about December, 1909, and that
he then collected subscriptions. The question there-
fore naturally arose as to whether his presence in
December was inconsistent with his presence there on
68 HUMAN LEOPARDS
the 17th and 18th October. There could be no doubt
that it was not. It is true that he had produced
evidence that he was only at Victoria once during
the year 1909, but this evidence was not of high value.
There was nothing to prevent the accused having
been at Victoria on the 17th and 18th October. His
letters to Freetown showed that he had intended to
begin his tour early in October, but his start was
delayed until the 20th. The first Human Leopard
meeting at Yandehun was, according to the prosecu-
tion, on the 13th October ; prominent members of
the Society would have had notice of this meeting
prior to the 13th October. Assuming that the
accused had such notice, he would have received it
just about the time he had originally meant to start,
and this would account for his start being delayed
until the 20th of October. And the view that he
made a surreptitious visit to Victoria for unlawful
purposes was strongly supported by the fact that the
witnesses for the Crown who testified to his visit had
been tampered with. Then the chain of facts worked
out by the prosecution connecting the witnesses
and the letter of 18th October with the accused's
visit, though not sufficient to be of itself corrobora-
tion, was significant confirmation of the story of the
informers.
The Court in giving judgment stated that, as the
accused was a man of education and a minister of
religion connected with a Missionary Society, they
had been slow to form an opinion adverse to him, but
that after careful and anxious consideration they
were unwillingly forced to the opinion that he was so
connected with the Human Leopard Society that it
THE YANDEHUN CASE 69
was expedient for the security, peace and order of
the District that he should be expelled from the
Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone ; and this
was accordingly done. *** 7
This man, who was born in America, successfully
raised his American citizenship on the previous occa-
sion when he was indicted for cannibal murder.
The trial of a person residing in the Protectorate for
an indictable offence ordinarily takes place before
the Circuit Court Judge and assessors, who take the
place of a jury, the assessors being usually native
chiefs who sit with the judge and advise him on
questions concerning native law and custom. At the
close of the case the judge sums up to them as he
would to a jury, and they individually give their
opinion as to the guilt or otherwise of the person
being tried. The judge, although he is not bound
by their opinions, naturally attaches a good deal of
weight to them, but the final verdict is left entirely
with him. Non-natives, however, have the right,
when charged with a capital offence, to be tried by a
judge and jury in the Colony instead of the Circuit
Court Judge and assessors, and the plea to the juris-
diction was successfully raised by counsel when the
accused was before the Circuit Court, on the ground
that he was an American subject and therefore a
non-native so far as the provision regulating the trial
of natives of the Protectorate was concerned. The
case was then transferred to Bonthe, where he was
found Not Guilty by a jury of educated natives.
After his acquittal he rejoined the United Brethren in
Christ Mission and went on a lecturing tour through
America on behalf of the Mission. One of the Euro-
70 HUMAN LEOPAKDS
pean members of the Mission who was present during
the trial of the case before the Special Commission
Court stated that he had heard him lecture in the
United States, and that by his eloquence and inter-
esting description of Sierra Leone he drew large
audiences and was successful in collecting a consider-
able sum of money for Mission purposes. He is also
known in England, where he had many friends ; on
several occasions he has been the guest of persons
in high position, to whom his trial upon a charge of
cannibal murder must have come as a most un-
pleasant shock.
CHAPTEE VII
BORFIMA AND MEMBEKSHIP CASES
THE first of these cases was one against an important
person who held high office in the Imperri Chiefdom.
The charge against him was that in or about the
month of July, 1912, he had in his possession without
lawful authority or excuse certain articles, to wit a
native medicine commonly known as " Borfima,"
and a " kukoi " or whistle, contrary to section 2 of
Ordinance No. 28 of 1909 (The Human Leopard
Society Ordinance) as amended by Section 7 of
Ordinance No. 17 of 1912. There were two other
counts charging him with (i) the custody and (ii)
the control of the " Borfima " and " Kukoi " men-
tioned above. The accused was a man of striking
personality, and appears to have exercised a great
influence in the Imperri Chiefdom.
The facts of the case were simple. In July, 1912,
it was stated by members of the Society who had
turned King's evidence that he had been present at
several meetings of the Human Leopard Society and
had taken a prominent part in the preliminary arrange-
ments for securing various victims, and that he had
at these meetings produced the " mother " Borfima
of the Imperri Chiefdom. In these circumstances he
was arrested and his houses at Gbangbama and
Victoria were watched by Court Messengers.
71
72 HUMAN LEOPARDS
Early one morning the senior Court Messenger
saw one of the accused's wives leave the house at
Gbangbama with a bundle. He followed her, and
when she saw that there was no escape she threw
the bundle down and ran away. This bundle
held, amongst other things, an iron pot containing
" medicine/'
The accused admitted that the " medicine " was
his, and made a statement as to how it had come into
his possession. This will be best described in his own
words : "I am a sick man. My sickness arose over
a dream. A snake swallowed me up to my waist.
I screamed and then awakened. In the morning I
was unable to move. My legs and body up. to the
place where the snake had swallowed me became
' dead/ I remained like that for four years. I
heard that there was a Mori Man at a town called
Behol, and sent a messenger for him. I employed this
man to make a medicine for me and I paid him 3
for it. That is the sebbeh (charm) which was in the
pot which the Court Messenger took from my wife.
The Mori Man told me that I would not dream again,
and that the lassimo (medicine) would ward ofl ill-
health and bad dreams so long as I always kept it
with me. Ah ! if he were not dead I would not be
here " (meaning that had the Mori Man been living
it would not have been in the power of the white
man to interfere with him).
The accused caused some amusement in Court by
describing how the senior Court Messenger brought
the sebbeh to Gombo-kabbo (" Fire in the grass/' the
native name for the Assistant District Commissioner),
and how he heard him shout out in a triumphant voice,
BORFIMA AND MEMBEESHIP CASES 73
which he imitated, " I have brought Daddy Borfima
come and see ! ''
He likewise imitated the voices of the two ex-
members of the Human Leopard Society who were
witnesses against him. One of these men had a
deep voice and the other's voice was just the reverse,
but this did not appear to present any difficulty to
this extraordinarily good mimic.
Evidence was given that he bore the mark of the
Human Leopard Society. His retort was that even
in England people have marks. He went on to say
that the people were beginning to say that the white
man " is bad/' but that it was not altogether the
white man's fault, as he was being misled by the
persons who said they had been members of the
Human Leopard Society and now, to save themselves,
gave evidence for the prosecution. He gave one to
understand that words failed him to express his
contempt for these persons, and that if they had to
deal with them under native law they would know
what to do.
He described how the District Commissioner had
forced him to throw the Borfima into a fire made
for that purpose ; and how he had protested against
this, stating that he had lost good money over its
destruction. He went on to pay a subtle compliment
to the Court by saying, " We were thinking in this
country that there were no judges in England until
you s daddies ' arrived."
Although the accused very ably defended himself,
there was no doubt from the evidence of the wit-
nesses that the medicine in question was Borfima.
It was also proved very clearly that he was one of
74 HUMAN LEOPARDS
the leaders in the Human Leopard Society. Found
Guilty, and asked if he had anything to say why
sentence should not be passed on him, he replied :
" I am the cow with the short tail, God will drive
the flies away. The Judges, you, represent God.
You didn't believe when I spoke of those men who
said they belonged to the Leopard Society. I see
the result now."
A sentence of fourteen years' imprisonment with
hard labour was passed on this man, who, even after
the passing of the sentence, had a last word of
protest and pathetic appeal. As he was leaving the
Court, he burst out, " I am an old man, fourteen
years is a longer time than I will live : Judges, if
you must have my life take it at once ; the soldiers
are there with their guns to shoot " the military
guard round the Court-house when the Court was
sitting.
It may be mentioned in connection with this case
that the prisoner, without any family influence, had
gained an ascendancy over the people of the Chiefdom
unequalled by even the Chief himself. Some years
ago he was tried for Leopard murder, but was
acquitted, and from that date he appears to have
been marked out as a person of distinction. It was
asserted that his " medicine " was sufficiently strong
to guard him against all bad trouble that might be
put upon him, and he was selected as the custodian
of the chief " medicine " of the Human Leopard
Society known as the " Mother Borfima." When
fresh Borfima was made it was necessary that a small
portion should be taken from the parent Borfima,
and this formed the foundation for the new Borfima.
BORF1MA AND MEMBEESHIP CASES 75
Another interesting native was brought before the
Court in the person of a Chief from the southern
portion of the Protectorate near the Liberian frontier,
charged with a similar offence. The District Com-
missioner obtained information that this man had
in his possession the " medicine " belonging to a
branch of the Society, and Court Messengers were
detailed to search his house, with the result that a
large quantity of " medicine " of various sorts was
discovered and produced before the Court.
The accused in his defence stated that he had been
one of the leaders of the " War boys," who operated
with the British force during the 1898 Rebellion, and
that the " medicine " produced had been seized by
the War boys from the rebels and was afterwards
deposited for safe keeping in his house ; that the War
boys had never returned to claim these curiosities or
trophies, and that the bags in which the" medicine "
had been kept had never been opened up until their
seizure by the Court Messengers. There was reliable
evidence that a portion of the " medicine " was Bor-
fima, and it was apparent that some of the leather
wrappings round it had recently been repaired.
From the evidence it was clear that the prisoner had
made use of the " medicine " for unlawful purposes,
and he was therefore found Guilty ; but as he had
been a great warrior and had rendered valuable ser-
vice to the Government during the 1898 Rebellion,
a comparatively light sentence was passed on him.
Another Chief from yet another part of the country
was indicted for being in possession of Borfima
without lawful authority. There was also a second
charge against him of having in his possession a
76 HUMAN LEOPARDS
Kukoi, i.e. a special kind of whistle used for calling
together members of the Human Leopard Society.
Information reached the District Commissioner of the
Island of Sherbro during the month of August, 1912,
that the accused had Borfima in his possession. This
man was known to be of a rather truculent dis-
position, and it was considered desirable that there
should be some show of force when his chief town was
visited for the purpose of effecting his arrest, as other-
wise some resistance might have been met with by
the officers detailed for this duty. An armed party
of the West African Frontier Force accordingly made
a surprise visit and surrounded his house, and effected
his arrest without any resistance being offered.
His house was then searched and a quantity of
u medicines " found which were produced in Court.
The accused admitted that the " medicines " be-
longed to him, but stated that they had been left to
him by his predecessor, and that during his absence
on one occasion while he was in Freetown they had
been put in his dwelling-house, and that he, fearing
these " medicines/' had kept them locked up in a
leather bag. He further denied that any of the
" medicines " was Borfima. The witnesses for the
prosecution all stated that a portion of the " medi-
cines " was Borfima, and it was apparent that the
wrappings of this particular " medicine " had been
recently repaired.
The Court in delivering judgment pointed out that
the accused, by keeping this medicine in his posses-
sion, gave himself and others the opportunity of
using it, and that there was satisfactory evidence to
show that it was not kept for curiosity or for
BORFIMA AND MEMBERSHIP CASES 77
any legitimate object, but for an unlawful purpose;
however, as there was no evidence to show that the
Borfima had been taken to the scenes of any of the
recent murders, and there was no reason to believe it
had, the Court took this into consideration in deciding
on the punishment to be imposed on the accused.
The sentence imposed was a term of two years' im-
prisonment with hard labour. The evidence regarding
the Kukoi (whistle) was not considered reliable, and
on this charge he was found not guilty.
A number of other cases besides those mentioned
occupied the time of the Court for some weeks, and
among them were a number of cases in which prisoners
were charged with being members of the Human
Leopard Society. As there were so many persons
under arrest on this charge, the Crown decided to
proceed only against the important men concerned.
Most of these men were defended by counsel, who
examined the witnesses for the prosecution at great
length, but in many cases they were unable to shake
their evidence. A number of these prisoners were
proved to have been present at various meetings of
the Society at which the details of several murders
had been arranged, and the Court in giving judgment
stated that on the facts proved such persons were
really accessories before the fact to these murders and
might on the evidence have been found guilty on the
capital charge had they been prosecuted for it, and
in those cases the Court felt compelled to pass the
maximum sentence of fourteen years' imprisonment
with hard labour.
The only other case of interest was one in which a
man of some importance in his chiefdom was charged
78 HUMAN LEOPARDS
with having in his possession without lawful authority
a certain article, to wit an iron needle of a peculiar
shape used for marking on initiation members of the
Human Leopard Society.
The possession of this article is made an offence
under the Human Leopard Society Ordinance, pun-
ishable with imprisonment up to fourteen years.
The case resolved itself chiefly into a discussion on a
point of law, the arguments in the case all turning on
the word " branding."
The case for the prosecution was that iron needles,
made specially for the purpose, were used in the
following way : the needle was inserted under the
skin, the skin and flesh were raised, a razor then cut
under or over the needle in such a way as to make a
small wound from which blood flowed. A prepara-
tion called Nikori was then placed on the wound, and
the result was a peculiar scar or mark. It was con-
tended that an iron needle used for that purpose could
be held to be a needle used for branding persons.
For the defence it was argued by counsel that
r< branding " a person meant applying a hot iron to
his person, and that marking a person was not the
same as branding him ; that the word " branding " by
itself contained the idea of burning, that the Statute
was a highly penal Statute giving exceptionally large
powers to the Executive and imposing a heavy pun-
ishment for breach of its provisions. It was further
argued that the needle was not even for " marking "
members that it was the razor which actually made
the mark ; that although the needle might be used
in the process of marking it was no more used for
" marking " the person than the hand which held it.
BORFIMA AND MEMBERSHIP CASES 79
The Court held that the needle could not be held to
be used for " branding," and found the accused not
guilty, and he was discharged.
The Crown Prosecutor entered a nolle prosequi in
the case of a number of other prisoners who had been
committed for trial but against whom he did not
consider that he had sufficient evidence to justify
him in proceeding further, and these men, so far as
the charges on which they were committed for trial
were concerned, were discharged from custody.
This completed the work of the Special Commission
Court, which, after sitting continuously from the
18th December, 1912, concluded its sittings on the
15th May, 1913.
CHAPTER VIII
OTHER CASES OF LEOPARD MURDER; THE HUMAN
BABOON SOCIETY
ALTHOUGH the work of the Special Commission Court
was completed on the 15th May, 1913, there were at
that date a large number of persons still in custody
who had not been committed for trial, and who there-
fore did not come within the purview of that Court.
It was decided that the District Commissioner should
hold an Enquiry under the Protectorate Ordinance
and report whether on the evidence given against any
of these men he considered such persons to be a danger
to the peace of the community.
The first enquiry made was in regard to charges
preferred against a number of men of the Imperri and
Jung Chiefdoms of being connected with the Human
Leopard Society. Evidence was given by informers
that all these men were members of or connected
with the Human Leopard Society, and mention was
made of a number of murders by the Society pre-
viously unknown to the Authorities. Apart from the
evidence of the informers there was ample evidence
to show that a number of these men had actually
assisted members of the Society, and the Governor-
in-Council approved of the deportation of twelve
sub-chiefs and fourteen of the principal Headmen of
80
OTHER CASES OF LEOPARD MURDER 81
the Imperri and Jong Chiefdoms from the Northern
Sherbro District.
The next enquiry was in regard to charges made
against thirty-six sub-Chiefs and principal men of the
Gallinas Chief dom. Three informers gave evidence
that they had been members of the Human Leopard
Society and had, during their membership, been
present at a number of murders, each of these men
admitting having given a victim himself and giving
details regarding the sacrifices. They said that all
the persons who were the subject of the enquiry were
members of the Society, and specified the various
murders at which each of them had been present ;
they also gave further evidence regarding the leopard
mark and exhibited the marks which they had received
on initiation.
One of the witnesses was a boy aged eighteen years.
His story was that one evening in the previous
year, as he was returning home from a visit to a
neighbouring village, night overtook him, and by
mistake he took a path leading to the Poro bush at
Powolu, where he fell into a number of people. He
spoke to them, but no one answered. He then got
afraid and commenced to run away, when he was
seized by some one who was assisted by several others
to make him a fast prisoner. He was then dragged
inside the Poro bush and a discussion took place,
which he was able to hear, as to whether they should
kill him or not. The majority of the members were
for immediately killing him in accordance with the
rules of the Society, but it was pointed out that
another victim had already been secured, and further
that as their prisoner was the son of a man of some
6
82 HUMAN LEOPARDS
importance his absence might give rise to some
awkward inquiries. It was therefore agreed to give
him the alternative of becoming a member of the
Society or of being immediately killed. The witness
stated that he agreed to join the Society. Borfima
was then brought, and the " big man " of the Society
explained to him that the Borfima was the " mother "
of the Society and should be treated with the greatest
veneration ; that they were its children and therefore
brothers to each other, and in order to join him to
their brotherhood some of his blood had to be given
to the Borfima to drink ; that when the blood was
taken from him he should bear the pain inflicted
bravely and should not utter a sound, as otherwise it
would displease their " medicine " and might result
in his being punished in some unexpected way. The
" Master " then marked him on the left buttock by
cutting a slice of flesh away and rubbing the blood
that exuded from the wound on to the Borfima. He
was then made to swear an oath on the Borfima not
to reveal the secrets of the Society, and was forced
to be present and witness the killing of a girl who had
been brought to the Poro bush, and was made to
eat some of the flesh of this victim.
Although there was no direct evidence apart
from that of accomplices, it was clear from the tes-
timony of independent witnesses that all these
persons were so connected with the Society as to
make it desirable to have them removed from the
Grallinas District, where it was stated they exer-
cised great influence over the people. All these
men, with the exception of eight sub-Chiefs who
absconded to Liberia, have since been deported to
LADIES OF THE SIERRA LEONE HINTERLAND.
OTHER CASES OF LEOPARD MURDER 83
the Karina and Koinadugu Districts of the Protec-
torate.
Some light was thrown on the means used to
terrorize the ordinary members of the community
into keeping silence regarding anything they may
have heard concerning the crimes committed by the
Society. When it was discovered that the Govern-
ment officers were making enquiries regarding the
Society an attempt was made " to swear " the whole
country that is, to put all the people under an
oath of secrecy. In one Chiefdom this was done
by swearing every one who was likely to be able to
give any information on a " medicine " called Tillah.
If a person breaks an oath on this " medicine," even
though he does so unwittingly, the natives believe
that the medicine will catch him and will infect him
with a disease which first attacks his lips and nose,
which it eats away, and which eventually kills him.
There are a few lepers in this Chiefdom, and they are
pointed out as people who have broken, though per-
haps unintentionally, an oath taken on the Tillah.
Another exhibit which was produced in one of the
cases before the Special Commission Court was a
stone image which is looked upon by the Gallinas
people in the light of a Deity. It is known by
the name of Toniahun. The meaning of the word
Toniahun is " turn back to truth/' The figure has
been carved out from soapstone by some ancient
sculptor, and its features are more of the Arab than
the Negro type. No woman will look at this image
for fear of becoming sterile, and they cover their
eyes if they approach it. This figure, notwithstand-
ing its name, was apparently also used for swearing
84 HUMAN LEOPARDS
persons on i.e. to force them to state that they
knew nothing of the Human Leopard Society and
so great is the fear of the Society and the various
" medicines " employed by it that even the parents
of children who have been seized as victims cannot
be induced to assist the Authorities in bringing the
guilty parties to justice. Prior to July, 1912, no
case of Human Leopardism or cannibalism had ever
been reported to have taken place in the Gallinas
Country, and the Authorities had no reason to suspect
that any had taken place. It was not until after a
number of arrests had been made in other Districts
that it was brought to light that a nourishing branch
of the Human Leopard Society had existed in that
District for many years, and details of about a score
of murders were given by members of the Society who
had turned informers. Although the existence of the
Society must have been known to hundreds of people,
many of whom went about in terror of it, the fear of
the " medicines " of the Society acted as a sufficient
deterrent to keep the matter from the ears of all
Europeans in that part of the country, thus demon-
strating the fear that an ordinary native has of doing
or saying any thing which might bring him into collision
with the members of the Human Leopard Society,
who might, with the aid of their " medicines/' punish
him in some fearful and unexpected way.
The fact that the majority of the persons who were
convicted or deported under the Special Commission
Court Ordinance were important members of the
Human Leopard Society must have the salutary
effect of breaking up for the time being this criminal
organization ; nevertheless, unless vigorous measures
A NATIVE CHIEFTAINESS.
OTHER CASES OF LEOPARD MURDER 85
are pursued and unless that part of the country is
more effectively policed, it is more than probable
that the killing of an occasional victim in order to
renew their fetishes will be continued. It must be
a gradual evolution, which will be brought about by
the natives of those parts coming more in touch with
European influence and gradually losing faith in
the potency of their " medicines."
While the Special Commission Court was sitting
three murders occurred in the Koinadugu District,
which hitherto as far as official knowledge goes was
entirely free from cannibalism of any kind. Accord-
ing to the evidence given by a number of witnesses,
the people of the Symira Chief dom had a very vexed
question to settle in the selection from a number of
aspirants of a Paramount Chief as a successor to their
late Chief who died the previous year, and who left
no near male relative who could of right claim to
succeed to the Chiefdom ; and it was suggested by
these witnesses that the victims were provided as
propitiatory offerings by candidates for the Chief-
dom.
A small girl aged about seven years was killed at
Nerekora toward the end of December, 1912 ; two
days later another small girl about twelve years of
age was killed at Bafai ; and early the following
month another girl aged about twelve to thirteen
years was killed at Nerekora. All these deaths were
at first attributed to attacks by bush leopards, but the
evidence given by various witnesses was to the effect
that these three girls were murdered by members of
the Human Leopard Society.
Another secret society known as the Human
86 HUMAN LEOPAEDS
Baboon Society, which exists in one of the northern
Districts of the Protectorate, first^ came to notice
about five years ago, when a number of persons were
charged before the Circuit Court with the murder of
a small child. During the investigation connected
with the death of the child, it came to light that a
number of persons in the vicinity of Port Lokkoh in
the Karina District had banded themselves together
and had formed a society which has since become
known as the Human Baboon Society. In the case
mentioned no evidence could be obtained to cor-
roborate the statements of the informers, and the
accused were found not guilty and discharged from
custody.
During the month of May, 1913, a small girl was
killed near the village of Bokamp, and, according to
statements made by persons who turned informers,
she was murdered by members of the Human Baboon
Society. Their statements were to the following
effect : That this Society was formed about six
years ago, and consists of twenty-one members made
up of eleven men and ten women ; that seven victims,
all young children, had been provided at various
times for the Society ; that at their meetings one of
the members of the Society dresses himself in a Baboon
skin and attacks the victim with his teeth ; that the
spirit of all members of the Society becomes centred
in the person who is for the time being wearing the
Baboon skin, which, when not in use, is kept in a small
forest, where it is guarded by an evil spirit, and that
the " Baboon " bites pieces out of the victim which
the other members of the Society devour.
The only explanation that the informers could or
OTHEE CASES OF LEOPAED MUEDEE 87
would give as to the objects of the Society was that
the founder of it had quarrelled with his tribal ruler,
who he alleged liberated one of the founders' slaves
and placed him in authority over him ; that he, the
owner of the slave, became so incensed that he
turned himself into a " witch " and induced others
to join him in doing " evil things/'
Objects and reasons other than those given by the
informers probably exist, but it is doubtful whether
they will ever be discovered.
The information in the hands of the Authorities,
however, appears to be sufficient to allow of effective
measures being taken to put an end to the existence
of this Society.
PART II
CHAPTER IX
A NOTE ON SIERRA LEONE, PAST AND PRESENT
IN acknowledging the congratulations of the people
of Sierra Leone on the occasion of his coronation,
King George V referred to the Colony as " my ancient
and loyal Sierra Leone." There is no question about
the Colony being an ancient one and one of the
earliest though perhaps not one of the brightest
jewels of His Majesty's now mighty Colonial Empire.
The harbour of Sierra Leone was discovered by the
Portuguese towards the end of the fourteenth century,
and was named by its discoverers Sierra Leone from
supposing the mountains to abound in lions, though
it has also been asserted that the name was derived
from the noise of the surf on the shores, which
resembles the roar of a lion.
At the present day there are no lions to be found
along the coast of tropical West Africa, but it is not
improbable that they were numerous in the days of
the early Portuguese explorers and roared a challenge
to their ships when they put in to land.
The following lines by T. B. Rhodes in his " Bom-
bastes Furioso," apropos of Col. Titus' speech in
the House of Commons on the Exclusion Bill on
the 7th January, 1681, shows that it was generally
88
A NOTE ON SIEERA LEONE 89
accepted as a fact that lions abounded along the
Coast of West Africa, which was the only part of
Tropical Africa known to Europeans in those days :
" So have I heard on Afric's burning shore
A hungry lion give a grievous roar :
The grievous roar echoed along the shore.
So have I heard on Afric's burning shore
Another lion give a grievous roar,
And the first lion thought the last a bore."
The coast-line and the rivers of Sierra Leone were
explored by Pedro de Cintra, a distinguished Portu-
guese navigator, in the year 1462, and this consti-
tuted one of the last of the Portuguese discoveries
carried on under the direct influence and authority
of Don Henry, the founder and father of modern
maritime discovery, who died the following year.
The record of the voyage so far as it affects Sierra
Leone is described as follows :
" On quitting St. Jago we steered southerly by
Rio Grande, which is on the north of Ethiopia, beyond
which we came to the high mountain of Sierra Leone,
the summit of which is continually enveloped in
mist and out of which thunder and lightning almost
perpetually flashes and is heard at sea from the dis-
tance of fifteen to twenty leagues/'
In 1481 the King of Portugal sent Susu, his am-
bassador, to Edward IV of England, claiming title
under the Bull of the Pope, and requested Edward
to forbid his subjects to navigate along the coast of
Africa.
England first began to take an active interest in
this part of Africa about the middle of the sixteenth
century. In 1551, in the reign of Edward VI, some
90 HUMAN LEOPARDS
London merchants sent an English ship to trade for
gold, ivory, and Guinea pepper; and about three
years later Captain John Lok brought back a valuable
cargo consisting of gold, ivory, and Guinea pepper
from what is now the Gold Coast Colony.
Sir John Hawkins landed at Sierra Leone on the
8th May, 1562, and it is recorded of him that he was
the first Englishman who gave public countenance
to the Slave Trade, which the Portuguese had been
carrying on for some years. He brought three ships
and took cargoes of slaves from Sierra Leone and
other parts of West Africa and sold them to the
Spanish settlements in America. After Captain
Hawkins returned to England from his first voyage,
Queen Elizabeth sent for him and expressed her
concern lest any of the African negroes should be
carried off without their free consent, which she de-
clared would be detestable and would call down the
vengeance of heaven upon the undertakers ; but it is
recorded that in the thirtieth year of her reign she
was induced by the subtle persuasion of some of her
subjects to grant patents for carrying on the slave
trade from the north part of the Senegal to one hun-
dred leagues beyond Sierra Leone.
Sir John Hawkins made three voyages from the
coast of Africa to the West Indies and Spanish
America with cargoes of slaves ; and the good Queen
Bess, having overcome her scruples regarding this
lucrative trade, fitted out as a private enterprise
two ships and sent them under the command of
Hawkins, who lost the whole of her money, the
ships being taken by the Spaniards. Sir Francis
Drake, who at that time had command of the barque
A NOTE ON SIEEEA LEONE 91
of fifty tons called the Jiidith, escaped and returned
to England.
It is not surprising that the name of the great
Elizabethan hero, Hawkins, is not held in reverence
by the inhabitants of Freetown, who assert that, far
from being a national hero, if he had lived in the
present day he would have been hanged for some of
the acts committed on their forbears. In this con-
nection a story is told of a prominent Sierra Leonean
who, on hearing the words " Britons never shall be
slaves " sung, remarked with some feeling, to a near
neighbour, " But they have been Julius Csesar took
them as slaves to Rome/'
Captain Keeling, who visited Sierra Leone in
August, 1607, wrote the following account of his visit :
" About 7 p.m. we anchored in twenty fathoms
on hard sand, the south part of Ilha Verde bearing
E. and the Cape of Sierra Leone, which is a low point,
N. by E. about eight leagues distant. But the land
over the Cape is very high, and may be seen fifteen
leagues off in clear weather. About six next morn-
ing we made sail for the road, and had not less than
16, 15, 10 and 9 fathoms till we ranged north and
south with the rocks which lie about one and a half
miles west of Cape Sierra Leone ; and when one mile
from the nearest shore we had seven fathoms good
shoaling between us and the rock. Immediately
when past the rock we had 20 fathoms, and shoaled
to 18, 16, 12 and 10 fathoms all the way into the
roads, keeping very near the South shore ; for a sand
lies about two miles from the North shore or a league
from the South shore, and upon it the sea continually
breaks. We came to anchor in ten fathoms on good
92 HUMAN LEOPARDS
X
ground, the point of Sierra Leone bearing W. by N.,
the north point of the bay N. by. W., and the sand
or breaker N.N.E. In the afternoon we were waved
by some men on shore, to whom I sent my boat, which,
leaving two hostages, brought off four negroes, who
promised us refreshments. My skiff sounded between
our anchorage and the breakers, finding fair shoaling,
with two fathoms water within two boats-length
of the beach or sand on which the sea breaks.
All the previous observations of the variation, since
our coming from 2 N. latitude to this place proved
erroneous ; for to each distance, having reference
to any Meridian eastwards, there must be added 30
leagues, and from such as referred to western Meridians
30 leagues must be subtracted ; for it appeared,
by our falling in with the land, that the ship was
so much more westerly than we supposed ; myself,
notwithstanding this error, being as much if not more
westerly than any of the Mariners. Yet every man
must trust to his own experience ; for instruments
may deceive, even in the hands of the most skilful.
The 7th August some negroes of a superior appear-
ance came aboard in my boat, for whom, as for all
others, we had to leave one of our men in hostage
for every two of them. These made signs that I
should send some men up the country, and they
would stay as hostages ; I accordingly sent Edward
Bradbury and my servant William Cotterell with a
present to the Captain or chief, consisting of one
coarse shirt, three feet of bar iron, a few glass beads,
and two knives. They returned towards night, and
brought me from the Captain one small gold earring
worth some eight or nine shillings ; and as it was late
A NOTE ON SIERRA LEONE 93
the hostages remained all night on board without any
one in pawn for them. I sent my boat, and brought
off five tons of water, very good and easily come by.
" I went ashore on the llth, when the people came
to us, accompanied by their women, yet feared we
might carry them away. We got plenty of lemons
very cheap, as they gave us 200 for a penny knife.
The 13th I bought an elephant tooth of 63 pounds
weight for five yards of blue calico and seven or
eight pounds of bar iron. The 15th in an hour and
a half we took Six thousand excellent small fish called
Cavallos. That afternoon we bought two or three
thousand lemons at the Village. It rained so much
at this place that we esteemed it a dry day when we
had three hours of fair weather. The 16th I allowed
our weekly workers to go on shore with me for
recreation. In our walk we saw not above two or
three acres sown with rice the surface of the ground
being mostly a hard rock. The 16th and 17th were
quite fair ; and on the latter I caused a quantity of
lemon-water to be made. The 20th John Rogers
returned and brought me a present of a piece of gold
in form of a half- moon, worth five or six shillings.
He reported the people to be peaceable, the chief
without state, the landing to be two leagues up the
river, and the chief's village eight miles from the
landing. The 22nd I went on shore and made six or
seven barricos full of lemon juice ; having opened
a firkin of knives belonging to the Company where-
with to buy limes. The afternoon of the 7th Sep-
tember we went all on shore to try if we could shoot
an elephant, when we shot seven or eight bullets into
him, and made him bleed exceedingly, as appeared
94 HUMAN LEOPAEDS
by his track ; but night coming on we had to go on
board without effecting our purpose. The best road
and watering place is the fourth bay to the east of
Cape Sierra Leone. The tide where we rode flowed
W.S.W., and the highest water upon a spring tide
was at the least 12 feet. I made no observation of
the sun in this road, neither aboard nor on shore,
though I proposed to have so done several times ; but
the Master made the road where we lay 8 36 N., Cape
Sierra Leone being west, a league or four miles off.
He also made the variation 1 50 eastwards ; but my
instrument was out of order, and I had not time
to put it in repair. We weighed from Sierra Leone
the 14th September, with the wind all easterly ; but
it soon fell calm, and we drove to the north, but drifted
again S.W. by S., with the ebb, and when the flood
again made, we anchored in 15J fathoms, Cape Sierra
Leone bearing N.E. by E. about seven leagues off.
We had not less than ten fathoms all this day. The
16th we found the current setting N. by W."
William Finch, a British merchant who also visited
Sierra Leone during the year 1607, wrote the follow-
ing lengthy and interesting account of his visit :
" The island which we fell in with lyeth some ten
leagues south from the bay of Sierra Leone in lat.
8 N., has no inhabitants, neither did I learn its name.
It has some plantains, and, by report, good watering
and wooding for ships ; but about a league from
the shore there is a dangerous ledge of rock, scarcely
visible at high water. The bay of Sierra Leone is
about three leagues broad, being high land on the
South side, full of trees to the very edge of the water,
and having several coves in which we caught plenty
A NOTE ON SIERRA LEONE 95
and variety of fish. On the farther side of the fourth
cove is the watering place, having excellent water
continually running. Here on the rocks we found the
names of various Englishmen who had been there.
Among those was Sir Francis Drake, who had been
there twenty-seven years before ; Thomas Candish,
Captain Lister, and others. About the middle of the
bay, right out from the third cove, lieth a sand, near
about which there are not above two or three fathoms,
but in most other parts eight or ten close in shore.
The tide flows E.S.E., the highest water being six
or eight feet, and the tide is very strong. The
latitude is 8 30 N.
" The King of Sierra Leone resides at the bottom
of the bay, and is called by the Moors Borea, or
Captain Caran, having other petty kings or chiefs
under him ; one whom he called Captain Pinto,
a wretched old man, dwells at a town within
the second cove ; and on the other side of the bay
is Captain Bolone. The Dominions of Borea stretch
forty leagues inland, from which he receives a
tribute in cotton cloth, elephants' teeth and gold;
and has the power of selling his people as slaves, some
of whom he offered to us. Some of them have been
converted to Christianity by the Portuguese priests
and Jesuits, who have a chapel, in which is a table
inscribed with the days that are to be observed as
holy. The King and a few of his principal attendants
are decently clothed in jackets and breeches ; but
the common people have only a slight cotton-cloth
round their waists, while the women have a kind
of short petticoat or apron down to their knees ; all
the rest of their bodies, both men and women, being
96 HUMAN LEOPAEDS
quite naked ; the young people of both sexes having
no dress whatever. All the people, both men and
women, have all parts of their bodies very curiously
and ingeniously traced and pintred (tattooed), and
have their teeth filed very sharp. They pull off all
the hair from their eyelids. The men have their
beards short, black, and cropped, and the hair on
their heads strangely cut into crisped paths or cross
alleys ; while others wear theirs in strange jagged
tufts, or other foolish forms ; the women's heads
being all close shaved.
"Their town contains not more than thirty or
forty houses, all irregularly clustered together,
all thatched with reeds ; yet each has a kind
of yard inclosed with mud walls like our hovels
or hog-styes in England. Instead of a locked and
bolted door, the entrance is only closed by a mat,
having nothing to be stolen ; and for bedsteads they
have only a few billets covered by a mat ; yet some
have hangings of mats, especially about their beds.
Their furniture consists of two or three earthen pots
to hold water, and to boil such provisions as they can
get ; a gourd or two for palm wine ; half a gourd to
serve as a drinking cup ; a few earthen dishes for
their loblolly or pottage ; and a basket or two for
the Maria to gather cockles ; and a knapsack for the
man, made of bark to carry his provisions, with his
pipe and tobacco. When a negro man goes from
home he has always his knapsack on his back, in
which he has his provisions and tobacco, his pipe
being seldom from his mouth ; besides which he has
always his little sword by his side, made by them-
selves of such iron as they get from the Europeans,
mm*
A NATIVE HUNTER
A NOTE ON SIEKKA LEONE 97
his bow also, and quiver full of poisoned arrows,
pointed with iron like a snake's tongue, or else a case of
javelins or darts having iron heads of good breadth
and made sharp, sometimes both. The men of this
country are large and well-made, strong and coura-
geous, and civilized manners for heathens ; as they
keep most faithfully to their wives, of whom they are
not a little jealous. I could not learn their religion,
for though they have some idols, they seem to know
that there is a God in heaven, as, when we asked
them about their wooden puppets, they used to lift
up their hands to heaven. All their children are
circumcised, but I could not learn the reason why.
They are very just and true in their dealings, and
theft is punished with instant death. When any
one dies, a small thatched roof is erected over his
bier, under which are set earthen pots kept always
full of water, and some earthen plates with different
kinds of food, a few bones being stuck up around the
body. To the South of this bay, some thirty or forty
leagues into the interior country, there are very fierce
people, who are cannibals, and sometimes infest the
natives of Sierra Leone.
" The inhabitants of Sierra Leone feed on rice, of
which they only cultivate what is indispensably need-
ful for their subsistence, in small patches near their
dwellings, which they clear by burning the woods.
They likewise sow another very small grain, called
pene, of which they make bread, not much unlike
winter savory. They rear a few poultry about their
houses, using no other animals for food, except when
they sometimes get a fawn of the wild deer, a few of
which are found in the mountains, or some wild fowl.
7
98 HUMAN LEOPARDS
They feed also on cockles and oysters, of which there
are vast quantities on the rocks and trees by the
seaside, but these have rather an insipid taste ; and
they catch plenty of excellent fish, by means of weirs
and other devices. They also feed on herbs and
roots, cultivating about their dwellings many plan-
tains, gourds, pumpkins, potatoes, and Guinea pepper.
"Tobacco likewise is planted by every one, and
seems to constitute half their food. The bowl of their
tobacco pipe is very large, and made of clay well
burnt, into the lower end of which they thrust a small
hollow cane eighteen inches long, through which they
suck the smoke, both men and women swallowing
most of it. Every man carries a small bag called a
tufno in his knapsack, in which is his pipe and
tobacco, and the women have their pipes in their
hands. They prepare their tobacco for smoking
by straining out its juice while quite green, and they
informed us by signs that it would otherwise make
them drunk. They afterwards shred it very small
and dry on an earthen dish over the embers. On an
island in the bay we saw about half a dozen goats
and nowhere else in this country.
"They have innumerable kinds of fruits growing
wild in the woods, in which are whole groves of
lemon trees, especially near the town and watering
place, and some few orange trees. Their drink is
mostly water ; yet the men use great quantities
of palmito wine, which they call moy, giving little
or none to the women. It is strange to see their
manner of climbing the palmito trees; which are
of great size and height, having neither boughs
nor branches except near the top. Surrounding the
PICKING PALM-KERNELS.
A NOTE ON SIEEKA LEONE 99
tree and his own body by means of a withe
or band of twisted twigs, on which he leans
his back, and jerking up his withe before him, he
foots it up with wonderful speed and certainty, and
comes down again in the same manner, bringing his
gourd full of liquor on his arm. Among their fruits
are many kinds of plums : one like a wheaten
plum is wholesome and savoury ; likewise a black
one, as large as a horse plum, which is much esteemed
and has an aromatic flavour. A kind called man-
samillius, resembling a wheaten plum, is very dan-
gerous, as is likewise the sap of the boughs which is
perilous for the sight if it should chance to get into
the eyes. Among their fruits is one called benin-
ganion, about the size of a lemon with a reddish rind
and very wholesome ; also another called bequill,
as large as an apple, with a rough knotty skin which
is pared off, when the pulp below eats like a straw-
berry, which likewise it resembles in colour and grain,
and of which we eat much. There are abundance of
wild grapes in the woods ; but having a woody and
bitterish taste. The nuts of the palmito are eaten
roasted. They use but little pepper and grains.
There is a singular fruit growing six or eight together
in a bunch, each as long and thick as one's finger, the
skin being of a brownish yellow colour and somewhat
downy, and within the rind is a pulp of a pleasant
taste ; but I know not if it be wholesome.
" I observed in the woods certain trees like beeches,
bearing fruit resembling beans, of which I noticed
three kinds. One of these was a great tall tree,
bearing pods like those of beans, in each of which was
four or five squarish beans, resembling tamarind
100 HUMAN LEOPARDS
seeds, having hard shells, within which is a virulent
poison, employed by the negroes to envenom their
arrows. This they call Ogon. The second is smaller,
having a crooked pod with a thick rind ; six or seven
inches long, and half that breadth, containing each
five large beans an inch long. The third, called quenda,
has short leaves like the former, and much bigger
fruit, growing on a strong thick woody stock, indented
on the sides, nine inches long and five broad, within
which are five long beans, which are also said to be
dangerous.
" I likewise saw trees resembling willows, bearing
fruit like pease pods. There is a fruit called Gola,
which grows in the interior. This fruit, which is
enclosed in a shell, is hard, reddish, bitter, and about
the size of a walnut, with many angles and corners.
The negroes are much given to chew this fruit along
with the bark of a certain tree. After one person
has chewed it a while, he gives it to his neighbour,
and so from one to another, chewing long before they
cast it away, but swallowing none of its substance.
They attribute great virtues to this for the teeth and
gums; and indeed the negroes are usually aswell toothed
as horses. This fruit passes also among themf or money.
"Higher within the land they cultivate cotton,
which they call innuma, and of which they spin
very good yarn with spindles, and afterwards very
ingeniously weave into cloths, three quarters of a
yard broad, to make their girdles or clouts formerly
mentioned ; and when sewed together it is made into
jackets and breeches for their great men. By means
of a wood called cambe they dye their purses and
mats of a red colour;
A NOTE ON SIERRA LEONE 101
"The tree on which the plantains grow is of a
considerable height, its body being about the
thickness of a man's thigh. It seems to be an
annual, and, in my opinion, ought rather to be
reckoned among reeds than trees ; for the stem is
not of a woody substance, but compacted of many
leaves wrapped close upon each other, adorned with
leaves from the very ground instead of boughs, which
are mostly two yards long and a yard broad, having
a large rib in the middle. The fruit is a bunch of ten
or twelve plantains, each a span long and as thick
as a man's wrist, somewhat crooked or bending in-
wards. These grow on a leafy stalk on the middle
of the plant, being at first green, but grow yellow
and tender as they ripen. When the rind is stripped
off, the inner pulp is also yellowish and pleasant to
the taste. Beneath the fruit hangs down, from the
same stalk, a leafy sharp-pointed tuft, which seems to
have been the flower. This fruit they call banana,
which they have in reasonable abundance. They
are ripe in September and October. We carried
some with us green to sea which were six weeks in
ripening.
4 'Guinea pepper grows wild in the woods on
a small plant like privet, having small slender
leaves, the fruit being like our barberry in form and
colour. It is green at first, turning red as it ripens.
It does not grow in bunches like our barberry, but
here and there two or three together about the stalk.
They call it bangue.
"The pene of which their bread is made grows
on a small tender herb resembling grass, the stalk
being all full of small seeds, not inclosed in any
102 HUMAN LEOPARDS
husk. I think it is the same which the Turks call
cuscus, and the Portuguese Yfunde.
" The palmito tree is high and straight, the stalk
being knotty and the wood of a soft substance,
having no boughs except at the top and these
also seem rather reeds than boughs, being all
pith within inclosed by a hard rind. The leaf is
long and slender, like that of a sword-lily or flag.
The boughs stand out from the top of the tree
on all sides, rather more than a yard long, beset
on both sides with strong sharp prickles, like the
saw teeth but longer. It bears a fruit like a small
cocoa-nut, the size of chestnut inclosed in a hard
shell, streaked with threads on the outside, and
containing a kernel of a hard horny substance quite
tasteless, yet they are eaten roasted. The tree is
called tobell and the fruit bell. For procuring the
palmito wine they cut off one of the branches within
a span of the head, to which they fasten a gourd shell
by the mouth, which in twenty-four hours is filled
by a clear whitish sap, of a good and strong relish,
with which the natives get drunk.
"The oysters formerly mentioned grow on trees
resembling willows in form, but having broader
leaves, which are thick like leather, and having
small knobs like those of the cypress. From these
trees hang down many branches into the water,
each about the thickness of a walking-stick, smooth,
limber, and within, which are overflowed by every
tide and hang as thick as they can stick of oysters,
being the only fruit of this tree.
" They have many kinds of ordinary fish, and some
of which seemed to us extraordinary, as mullets,
A NOTE ON SIERRA LEONE 103
rays, thorn-backs, old-wives with prominent brows,
fishes like pikes, gar-fish, cavallios, like makerel,
sword-fishes having snouts a yard long toothed on
each side like a saw-shark's, dog-fish sharkers, resem-
bling sharks but having a broad flat snout like a
shovel, shoemakers, having pendants at each side of
their mouths like barbels, and which grunt like hogs,
with many others. We once caught in an hour 6,000
fishes like bleaks. Of birds there are pelicans as large
as swans, of a white colour, with long and large bills ;
herons, curlews, boobies, ox-eyes, and various other
kinds of water-fowl. On land great numbers of grey
parrots, and abundance of pintados or Guinea fowls,
which are very hurtful to their rice crops. There are
many other kinds of strange. birds in the woods, of
which I knew not the names ; and I saw among the
Negroes many porcupine quills. There are also great
number of monkeys leaping about the trees, and on
the mountains there are lions, tigers and ounces.
There are but few elephants, of which we only saw
three ; but they abound further inland. The negroes
told us of a strange beast, which our interpreter
called a carbuncle, which is said to be often seen,
but only in the night. This animal is said to carry a
stone in the forehead, wonderfully luminous, giving
him light by which to feed in the night, and on hearing
the slightest noise he presently conceals it with a
skin or film naturally provided for the purpose. The
commodities here are few, more being got farther
to the eastwards. At certain times of the year the
Portuguese got gold and elephants' teeth in exchange
for rice, salt, beads, bells, garlick, French bottles,
edge-tooles, iron barrs, and sundry specious trifles,
104 HUMAN LEOPAKDS
but for your toyes they will not give gold in this
place but victuals."
In 1615 Sierra Leone was visited by the Unity, a
ship of 360 tons, of which William Cornelison Schonten
was the master. This visit is described as follows :
" On the 1st August we came in sight of the high
land of Sierra Leone, on the 21st of that month,
as also of the island of Madre Bomba, which lies off
the south point of Sierra Leone and north from the
shallows of the island of St. Ann. This land of
Sierra Leone is the highest of all that lie between
Cape Verd and the coast of Guinea, and is therefore
easily known.
" On the 30th August they cast anchor in eight
fathoms water on a fine sandy bottom near the shore
and opposite a village or town of the negroes in the
road of Sierra Leone. This village consisted only
of eight or nine poor thatched huts. The moorish
inhabitants were willing to come on board to trade,
only demanding a pledge to be left on shore for their
security, because a French ship had recently carried
off two of the natives perfidiously. Aris Clawson, the
junior merchant or supercargo, went accordingly on
shore, where he drove a small trade for lemons and
bananas in exchange for glass beads.
" In the meantime some of the natives came off
to the ship, bringing with them an interpreter who
spoke many languages. They here very conveniently
furnished themselves with fresh water, which poured
down in great abundance from a very high hill, so
that they had only to place their casks under the water-
fall. There were here whole woods of lemon- trees,
and lemons were so cheap that they might have had
A NOTE ON SIERKA LEONE 105
a thousand for a few beads and ten thousand for a few
common knives, so that they easily procured as many
as they wished, and each man had 150 for sea store.
The 3rd September they found a vast shoal of fish
resembling a shoemaker's knife. They left Sierra
Leone on the 4th September."
The next recorded visit to Sierra Leone was that of
the Desire, whose Master was Thomas Candesh, and
this visit is described as follows :
" They made Sierra Leone on the 23rd August,
and reached its southern side on the 25th, where
they had five fathoms of the lowest ebb ; having
had for about fourteen leagues, while running into
this harbour, from eight to sixteen fathoms. At
this place they destroyed a negro town because the in-
habitants had killed one of their men with a poisoned
arrow. Some of the men went four miles up the
harbour in a boat on the 3rd September, where they
caught plenty of fish, and going on shore procured
some lemons. They saw also some buffaloes, on
their return to the ship. On the 6th they went out
of the harbour of Sierra Leone and staid one tide
three leagues from the point at its mouth, the tide
there flowing S.W.
" The 7th they departed for one of the islands which
lie about ten leagues from the point of Sierra Leone,
called the Banana Isle, and anchored that same day
off the principal isle, on which they only found a few
plantains."
In 1622 a Dutch fleet consisting of eleven vessels
put into the harbour of Sierra Leone, where they
stayed for about three weeks. The visit is described
as follows :
106 HUMAN LEOPARDS
' They anchored in the road of Sierra Leone on the
llth August. Here on the 15th some of the crew
being on shore ate freely of certain nuts resembling
nutmegs, which had a fine taste, but had scarcely got
on board when one of them dropt down dead, and
before he was thoroughly cold he was all over purple
spots. The rest recovered by taking proper medicines.
Sierra Leone is a mountain on the Continent of
Africa standing on the South side of the mouth of the
river Mitomba, which discharges itself into a great
bay of the sea. The road in which ships usually
anchor is in Lat. of 8 26 N. This mountain is very
high and thickly covered with trees, by which it may
be easily known, as there is no mountain of such
height anywhere upon the coast. There grows here a
prodigious number of trees producing a small kind
of lemons called limasses (limes), resembling those of
Spain in shape and taste, and which are very agree-
able and wholesome if not eaten to excess. The fleet
arrived here at the season when this fruit was in
perfection, and having full leave from the natives the
people eat them intemperately, by which and the bad
air the bloody flux increased much among them, so
that they lost forty men between the llth August
and the 5th September.
" Sierra Leone abounds in palm trees, and has some
Ananas or Pine-apples with plenty of wood of all
sorts, besides having anchorage. They sailed from
Sierra Leone on the 4th September, on which day
the Admiral fell sick."
In 1730 the Merchants of Havre and Nantz sent
out some armed merchant vessels with the alleged
object of exterminating the pirates in Pirates' Bay,
A NOTE ON SIERKA LEONE 107
Sierra Leone ; history is silent as to the result
of this expedition. They visited the Colony of
Gambia and destroyed some trading centres owned
by Englishmen.
By an Act of Parliament of 1763, 4 George III,
Chapter 20, Senegal and its Dependencies became
vested in a Company which is described as the Com-
pany of Merchants Trading in Africa, and by an Act
of the following year the property of the Company
became vested in His Majesty King George the
Third, and the trade to Africa was declared open to
all his subjects, the officers and servants on the
Coast being forbidden to export negroes on their
own account.
The Peninsula of Sierra Leone was purchased in
1787, and a number of freed slaves and about sixty
white women arrived from England the same year.
The Sierra Leone Company, which had been formed
for philanthropic purposes, was established by Act
of Parliament, 31 George III, Chapter 55, of the
1st July, 1791, for a period of thirty-one years, and
annulled on the petition of the Company by an Act
transferring to His Majesty certain possessions and
rights vested in the Company, and for shortening the
duration of the said Company and for preventing
any dealing or trafficking in buying or selling slaves
within the Colony of Sierra Leone on the 8th August,
1807. The Colony was formally transferred to
Governor Ledlum for the Crown on the 31st January,
1808. Apart from anything else, Sierra Leone, on
account of its very'close association with the abolition
of the slave trade and the efforts made to promote
civilization in West Africa and to convert the natives
108 HUMAN LEOPARDS
to Christianity, will always appeal to the sentiment
of a large section of the English public.
It was the famous ruling of Lord Chief Justice
Mansfield in 1772 that a slave setting foot in England
became free, which inspired William Cowper's stirring
lines :
" Slaves cannot breathe in England : if their lungs
Receive our air, that moment they are free ;
They touch our country and their shackles fall."
" Freedom has a thousand charms to show
That slaves, howe'er contented, never know."
Although the slave trade was abolished over a
century ago, slavery still exists in many parts of
West Africa, and it was in a great measure due to the
raids by the Sofas and intertribal wars for the purpose
of obtaining slaves that a Protectorate was in 1896
declared over the territory adjacent to the Colony
of Sierra Leone. Domestic slavery still exists, but
it is a kind, patriarchal sort of slavery, and slaves
are allowed to purchase their freedom by paying, in
the case of an adult, a sum not exceeding 4, and in
the case of a child a sum not exceeding 2 ; many of
them prefer to remain as domestic slaves or retainers,
or, as they describe it, " sit down to some person "
who makes himself responsible for their welfare.
Their position is somewhat similar to that of the serf
under the old English feudal system.
All dealing in slaves has been made unlawful, and
heavy penalties are provided for any breach of this
provision, whilst every slave or other person who shall
be brought or induced to come within the limits of
A NOTE ON SIEREA LEONE 109
the Protectorate in order that such person shall be
dealt or traded in, sold, purchased or transferred as a
pledge or security for debt, is declared to be free. The
principles underlying the administration of the Pro-
tectorate have been to recognize as between natives
the use of native customs and laws, and to preserve
the authority of the native rulers while preventing
any acts of aggression on their part.
The Protectorate Courts Jurisdiction Ordinance,
1903, provides that in the Court of the District Com-
missioners or the Circuit Court judicial cognizance
may be taken of any law or custom not being repug-
nant to natural justice. Courts of Native Chiefs
are also recognized by the above Ordinance, and such
Courts are declared to have jurisdiction according
to native law and custom to hear and determine all
civil cases arising exclusively between natives, other
than a case involving a question of title to land
between two or more Paramount Chiefs, and all
criminal cases arising exclusively between natives,
other than Murder, Slave-raiding, Cannibalism, and
a few other of the more serious offences, provided
that the Chief shall in no case be permitted to inflict
punishment involving death, mutilation, or grievous
bodily harm ; formerly it was the custom to hand
over the wrong-doer to the injured party, who could
take his life or keep him as a slave until such time
as he or his family paid a sufficient sum to have him
redeemed.
The administration by the native rulers is kept
under close observation, and they are encouraged to
educate themselves in the application of their own
code. Each chief has his advisers or counsellors,
110 HUMAN LEOPARDS
some of whom are selected by himself and others
elected by the people. When a chief dies it is not
customary to announce the fact at once his chief
speaker would announce first that he was suffering
from a bad sickness, and was therefore unable to
attend the affairs of State, later he would announce
that he had gone to Futah Futah Jalloh being in
the eyes of the natives a land rich in cattle and
everything that they most desire. Steps would then
be taken to elect a new chief. The person usually
selected would be the senior male member of the
deceased's family, though they sometimes go to the
female side, as there is no Salic law to prevent such
a course. The person nominated is taken to a hut on
the outskirts of the town near the burial-place of the
chief, where he lives out of sight of all persons for
two or three months ; during this period he is sup-
posed to hold high converse with the mighty dead,
and learn from them how to govern wisely and well.
After the lapse of this period the principal men of
the chief dom visit him, and he is escorted into the
town, which gives itself up to wild enthusiasm. The
chief elect is carried round the town by a struggling,
shouting mob, and at this stage it is permissible for
any one to strike him. The reason given for this
ceremony is that it enables the chief to feel the pain
he will have in his power to inflict on others, and in
consequence it may teach him compassion. After
the chief has been formally elected and acclaimed,
his body is sacred. Among the Mendes, women are
frequently elected to the chieftainship ; a chieftain-
ess does not marry, but may have a consort, whom
she changes at will. She is also permitted, contrary
A NOTE ON SIEKRA LEONE 111
to a strict rule regarding other women, to join the
Poro Society. The Bundu Society, a women's society
which corresponds with the Poro for men, plays a
very important part in native life among the Mendes
and Temnes. Bundu girls have to undergo during
their novitiate period an operation somewhat similar
to that performed on the Poro boys, and their backs
and loins are cut in such a manner as to leave raised
scars which project above the surface of the skin.
They also receive their Bundu names by which they
are afterwards known. Their release from the Bundu
bush is carried out with great ceremony, and they are
usually accompanied by persons wearing hideous
masks who personate Bundu devils. A procession is
formed, which marches through the town or village
accompanied by musicians, who play on a collection
of instruments consisting of drums, rattles and tim-
brels. A halt is made in the centre of the town and
the girls are publicly pronounced marriageable.
The price paid for a wife varies according to the
social position of the parties, but the usual price is
between 3 and 5, though a man who has married
a shrew will often sell her second-hand for a few
shillings.
The majority of the people of the Protectorate are
Pagans, but Mohammedanism is rapidly spreading
among them ; and as no good Mohammedan ever
touches spirits, the advance of this faith may go a
long way to put a stop to the consumption of trade
gin, which is the curse of the Coast. The Government
is doing everything possible to discourage its use as
currency, and the principle of local option has been
encouraged with good effect. One large District and
112 HUMAN LEOPAKDS
portions of two other Districts have been declared
prohibited areas into which no spirits can be lawfully
imported.
One other matter which the Local Government is
doing that is likely to result in much good is the effort
being made to instruct the native chiefs and their
people in sanitation and to teach them an elementary
knowledge of hygiene.
The Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone at
the present time comprise an area of approximately
30,000 square miles, and the population, given at the
census taken in 1911, is 1,400,000. The Colony has
an area of only 256 square miles and a population
of 75,000, of which about 600 are Europeans ; it is
of course the Colony that has so often been referred
to in song and story on account of the evil reputation
of its climate ; it is a case of " give a dog a bad name
and it sticks to him."
Sierra Leone was and is still known, though now
quite undeservedly, as the White Man's Grave. Mrs.
Falconbridge, the wife of one of the early agents of
the Sierra Leone Company, records that during her
residence in the Colony (1793-4) it was usual to ask
in the morning " how many died last night." This
can still be heard in Freetown as a form of morning
greeting, but it now helps to start the day with a
laugh, and that in West Africa is about the best
tonic known.
Captain Chamiers, in his " Life of a Sailor," says :
" I have travelled east, I have travelled west, north
and south, ascended mountains, dived in mines, but I
never knew and never heard mention of so villainous
and iniquitous a place as Sierra Leone. I know not
A NOTE ON SIEEKA LEONE 113
where the Devil's Poste Eestante is, but the place
must surely be Sierra Leone."
Burton, in commenting on the above on the occasion
of a visit paid to Freetown, the capital of the Colony,
prior to writing his interesting book " Wanderings
in West Africa," says in justice to the place, " Here,
as elsewhere, the saying may hold good that a certain
person may, perhaps, not be so black as he is painted."
The educated Sierra Leonean is proud of the fact
that the great Milton in " Paradise Lost " referred to
Sierra Leone, even though it was only in connection
with the awe-inspiring tornado to which the Colony
is frequently subject, in those lines :
" With adverse blast upturns them from the South
. . . black with thund'rous clouds from Sierra Leone."
Sierra Leone as it exists to-day is, owing to
segregation and up-to-date sanitation, comparatively
healthy for Europeans. The progress of the Colony
has been phenomenal during the last fifteen years,
and the credit is chiefly due to two energetic and
far-seeing Governors in the persons of Sir Frederick
Cardew and Sir Leslie Probyn, who foresaw the great
benefit that would accrue by opening up the Protec-
torate, and this has been done by building lines of
railway into the rich palm-kernel belts and encourag-
ing the natives to gather the natural products of the
country for export.
The revenue of the Colony, which in 1898 was
only 117,000, had increased to 618,000 in 1913, and
although the expenditure has proportionately in-
creased, the finances of the Colony may be looked
upon as satisfactory.
8
114 HUMAN LEOPARDS
Freetown, the chief port and the seat of the Govern-
ment, is a city with a population of about 35,000
inhabitants, of which about two-thirds belong to a
class known as Creoles, the majority of whom are
the descendants of the liberated slaves. It is beauti-
fully situated, at the foot of a circle of hills on the
summits of which are barracks belonging to the Gar-
rison Artillery, the West India and the West African
Regiment; and a short distance beyond lies Hill
Station, the residence of the majority of the European
officials stationed in the Colony Sugar Loaf, a beau-
tiful wooded mountain which rises to a height of
nearly 3,000 feet, forming a picturesque background.
Altogether the natural beauties of Freetown and its
surroundings are many, though it is frequently
asserted by the jaded or bored temporary resident,
that to enjoy the view really one must see it from
the stern of one of Messrs. Elder, Dempster's ships
homeward bound.
In regard to the temporary resident which every
European must consider himself, as, even with the
greatest progress possible, Sierra Leone can never be
regarded as other than a black man's country a
discussion recently took place at a meeting of the
members of the Hill Station Sports Club on the
interpretation of the words " permanent residents "
and " ordinary members " of the Club. One member
humorously moved the deletion of the words " per-
manent " and " ordinary/' assigning as his reason
that the only European " permanent " members were
those in the cemetery, and that there was a misuse
of the word " ordinary " as no one who was ordinary
ever came to West Africa ; needless to say the pro-
A NOTE ON SIEEEA LEONE 115
posal was carried nem. con. The European officials
and officers of the garrison are well provided for in
the way of means of recreation. There are numerous
tennis courts, a golf link, stickie and squash
courts, and a cricket ground and there is no doubt
that the fact of being able to take healthy and
pleasant exercise reacts favourably on the health
generally of the white community. Hill Station is
situated nearly 1,000 feet above sea level and in the
midst of most beautiful surroundings, and here the
European official can enjoy the refreshing breezes
from the broad Atlantic after leaving his office and
the used-up atmosphere of Freetown. The Station
is connected by a line of rails six miles in length
with Freetown. The train is naturally not a " flying
Scotchman/' and some years ago the Eailway Depart-
ment were practising economy by feeding their engines
with firewood instead of coal ; however, the train
service at present is as good as can be expected, and
there are a sufficient number of trains to meet the
requirements of residents.
Hill Station is fortunate in having an excellent
water supply laid on to all the bungalows, which are
roomy and comfortable ; and, all things considered,
the Colonial Official's lot in Sierra Leone is not an un-
happy one.
In the streets of Freetown there are natives of
many races to be seen. Chief among them are the
Mendes and Temnes, but there are also many Man-
dingos, Susus and Limbahs. The market women of
Freetown, chiefly Creole, are also one of the features
of the place. They are keen business women, and
look upon it almost as a matter of honour to haggle
116 HUMAN LEOPARDS
over the smallest commercial transaction. There
are of course many Creole traders who have shops
of their own, where anything from a bag of sand to
a pearl necklace can be purchased, but the chief trade
is in the hands of European firms. The educated
Creole youth usually looks for employment as a
clerk, and when once he has attained that object he
makes little further effort to improve his position.
According to the last census the Creole population
shows a decrease of over 6 per cent, during the ten
years under review, while the other native races in
the Colony show a considerable natural increase. The
ordinary Creole has always shown a marked antipathy
to agriculture, and the principle here applies that
when a nationality declines to cultivate the earth, the
first industry of life, that nationality has a tendency
to decrease.
Mission enterprise has not been a success in West
Africa, and this is probably due to the fact that the
first stage in converting the pagan is the effort made
to break down his superstitious beliefs in good and
evil spirits, which are matters of the gravest im-
portance in his social life.
Witches and vampires are still in fashion among
them, and belong to the good old-fashioned variety
which come to your bedroom in the dead of night,
sit on your chest and suck your blood. It is not
unusual to hear even the more or less educated native
complain that he has passed a most unpleasant night
because " witches " have visited him.
It is certainly no compliment to call a lady in this
country a witch ; she is liable to be maltreated and
even beaten to death, and it is not uncommon for the
A NOTE ON SIERRA LEONE 117
police to be asked to protect a Freetown lady who is
suspected of being a witch.
It would appear from the criminal statistics that
Freetown has a demoralizing effect on the aboriginal
native who comes from the Protectorate to trade or
obtain employment, and this is probably due to the
fact that he is free from tribal authority and that
his superstitious belief does not present any obstacle
to his helping himself to the white man's property.
There is very little stigma attached to imprison-
ment, which, after all, is the chief deterring factor in
civilized countries ; it does not necessarily follow
that a scale of punishments suitable for offences
committed by a civilized people is suitable for
offences committed by an uncivilized people, and
there are strong arguments in favour of allow-
ing corporal punishment to be inflicted as well as
imprisonment for offences committed by uneducated
natives. Imprisonment to the educated native is of
course a real punishment, though the social conse-
quence following it would not be as serious as in the
case of a European.
Commercially the importance of Sierra Leone is
small as compared with its easterly neighbours, the
Gold Coast Colony with its hinterland Dependencies
of Ashanti and the Northern Territories, and the huge
new Colony of Nigeria made up of three older Colonies,
but of all our West African Colonies Sierra Leone is
probably the best known to the British public, and
with the fine harbour and important coaling station
at Freetown, its capital, Sierra Leone is a valuable
link in the great chain of Imperial communication.
APPENDIX
DESPATCH FROM THE GOVERNOR OF SIERRA
LEONE REPORTING ON THE MEASURES
ADOPTED TO DEAL WITH UNLAWFUL
SOCIETIES IN THE PROTECTORATE
THE GOVERNOR TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE
(Received 21 July, 1913.)
GOVERNMENT HOUSE, SIERRA LEONE,
9th July, 1913.
SIR,
I HAVE the honour to transmit, for your informa-
tion, a report on the steps taken to deal with unlawful
societies in the Protectorate.
I have, &c.,
E. M. MEREWETHER,
Governor.
Enclosure.
REPORT ON THE MEASURES ADOPTED TO DEAL WITH
UNLAWFUL SOCIETIES IN THE SIERRA LEONE PRO-
TECTORATE.
For a number of years past the Northern Sherbro
district has been the principal field for the operations
of an organization which goes under the name of the
Human Leopard Society. It has not yet been decided
whether the object of the Society is merely to satisfy
the craving which some savages have for human flesh,
or whether the eating of human flesh is only part of some
ceremony which is believed to have the effect of increasing
the mental and physical powers of the members of the
119
120 APPENDIX
Society. Whatever the object is, the result is a very
powerful and widespread secret organization, to which
most, if not all, of the principal men of certain districts
belong.
2. Several cases of murder committed by this Society
have at various times come before the Circuit Court, and
convictions have been obtained, but the full extent of
the Society's operations was not brought to light until
last year, when the District Commissioner received
information that from 20 to 30 murders had been com-
mitted since the year 1907, the Imperri sub-district and
the country round Pujehun being the principal centres
of the trouble.
3. The District Commissioner reported the matter to
the Government at the end of July, and proceeded to
arrest the persons who appeared to be implicated. By
the middle of October 336 persons had been arrested,
including several Paramount Chiefs and leading men
from the different chiefdoms. A company and a half of
the West African Frontier Force were sent down to the
Northern Sherbro District to preserve order and assist
in guarding the prisoners.
4. The only direct evidence against the persons arrested
was found in the statements of certain of their number
who turned King's evidence. These men admitted that
they themselves were members of the Human Leopard
Society, and described what had taken place at the various
murders in which they had taken part.
5. In many cases there was no corroborative evidence,
and all attempts to obtain such evidence proved fruitless,
a very strong oath of secrecy having clearly been imposed
on all the people. Even the relatives of the victims,
who were in most cases young boys and girls, were
afraid to give information.
6. It soon became clear that, although the District
Commissioner and his assistants relied on being able
to prove a special mark indicating membership of the
APPENDIX 121
Society, there was not sufficient evidence against many
of the persons arrested to justify their being committed
for trial. Accordingly, in order to assist the District
Commissioner, who was overwhelmed with work, the
Solicitor-General was sent to the Northern Sherbro
District with instructions to go into the cases with him
and ascertain in how many there was a sufficiently strong
prima facie case against the accused.
7. The result of the Solicitor-General's enquiry was :
out of 336 persons who were detained in custody at
Pujehun and Gbangbama, 42 were committed for trial,
three turned King's evidence, and 291 were discharged
after the preliminary enquiry had been held. Later on,
66 other persons were arrested, all of whom were com-
mitted for trial on various charges. The total number
committed was, therefore, 108.
8. The state of things disclosed by the reports of the
District Commissioner was so serious, and the pernicious
influence of the Human Leopard Society appeared to be
so widely spread, that it was considered necessary, in
order to deal adequately with the situation, to give the
Government special powers. The Human Leopard and
Alligator Societies Ordinance of 1909 was accordingly
amended in the following particulars :
(a) The two Societies were declared to be unlawful
societies.
(6) Power was given to the Governor to proclaim
any chiefdom in which a murder had been
committed in connection with an unlawful
society, and to the District Commissioner to
arrest and detain any person in a proclaimed
chiefdom on a warrant under his hand.
(c) It was made an offence to be a member of an
unlawful society, or to take part in the opera-
tions of any such society or of any meeting
of an unlawful society. The effect of this
provision was made retrospective.
122 APPENDIX
(d) Powers of search were given to the police in the
Colony, and to court messengers and the West
African Frontier Force in the Protectorate.
(e) Power was given to the Governor-in-Council to
order the expulsion of any alien convicted under
the Ordinance and sentenced to imprisonment
on the expiration of his term of imprisonment.
A copy of the amending Ordinance (No. 17 of
1912) is attached.
9. It was further considered necessary to appoint
a special tribunal to deal with offences committed by
members of unlawful societies, for the following reasons :
(1) The number of cases to be heard and the number
of persons committed for trial was so large that
it would have been impossible for the Judge
of the Circuit Court to hear them without
seriously interfering with the ordinary criminal
and civil work of the Court.
(2) In the Circuit Court, native chiefs sit with the
Judge as assessors, and as it appeared from
the reports of the District Commissioner that
many of the Paramount Chiefs in his District
were implicated in the crimes of the Human
Leopard Society, there was a danger of the
Assessors being in sympathy with the persons
whom they would be called upon to try.
10. An Ordinance was accordingly passed empowering
the Governor to appoint a Court or Courts of Special
Commissioners for the trial of persons charged with
offences committed in connection with unlawful societies,
whether before or after the commencement of the Ordi-
nance, and defining the powers and jurisdiction of the
Court. A copy of the Ordinance (No. 18 of 1912) is
attached, together with a copy of Ordinance No. 21 of
1912, by which certain amendments in matters of detail
were made.
11. Under Section 2 (2) a Special Commission Court
APPENDIX 123
consists of three persons, one of whom must be a judge
or barrister or solicitor of the Supreme Court of the Colony
or of any other Court in the British dominions, and one
of the members is appointed to be President of the Court.
By Section 10 the powers conferred by Sections 5 and 6
of the Human Leopard and Alligator Societies Amend-
ment Ordinance, 1912, and various other powers con-
ferred by the Human Leopard and Alligator Societies
Ordinance of 1909 are extended to persons convicted by
a Special Commission Court.
12. It was recognized that, in view of the terror inspired
by the Society and the oath of secrecy which was believed
to have been imposed on the people of the District, there
would be great difficulty in obtaining evidence ; and that
persons of whose connection with the Society there was
no moral doubt whatever might be acquitted for want of
sufficient evidence to satisfy legal requirements. Section
11 of the Ordinance accordingly provides that in any
such case, if the Court is of opinion, after hearing all the
evidence, that it is expedient for the security, peace or
order of the District that the accused person should be
expelled from the District, the Court may, notwith-
standing his acquittal, send to the Governor a report
of the case, and thereupon the accused may be expelled
from the Colony and Protectorate.
13. The importance of having an officer of high legal
attainments, and one who had had previous experience
of West Africa, as President of the Court was obvious,
and the Government was fortunate in being able to
secure the services of Sir William Brandford Griffith,
late Chief Justice of the Gold Coast. The other members
of the Court, as it was at first constituted, were Mr. A.
Van der Meulen, Solicitor-General, and Mr. K. J. Beatty,
Police Magistrate, both of whom are barristers-at-law.
Later on, Mr. Van der Meulen went on leave, and his
place was taken by Lieutenant-Colonel H. G. Warren,
District Commissioner of the Karene District.
124 APPENDIX
14. The Court commenced its sittings on the 16th
December. Owing to the large number of prisoners and
witnesses, all of whom resided in the Northern Sherbro
District, it was decided that the Court should sit at
Gbangbama, in the Imperri chief dom. The Crown was
represented by Mr. E. D. Vergette, Crown Prosecutor,
assisted by Major R. H. K. Willans, Acting District
Commissioner, and Mr. C. S. H. Vaudrey, Assistant
District Commissioner. The prisoners were all repre-
sented by counsel.
15. The trials were conducted with the utmost care
and patience. The hearing of the first case occupied
11 days, of the second 36 days, and of the third 28 days.
The other cases were disposed of more rapidly.
1 6. In the third case the question of the initiation mark
alleged to be borne by members of the Human Leopard
Society was very carefully gone into. The accomplices
showed the mark on their own persons, and described
how it was made. They also pointed out marks on
the prisoners which they alleged to be the mark of the
Society. Unfortunately, their evidence in some instances
was contradictory, and they identified different marks
on the same person as being the initiation mark. More-
over, it was proved, by taking persons haphazard in the
Court who were not suspected of any connection with
the Society, that it was hardly possible to distinguish the
alleged Human Leopard mark from scars caused by disease
or slight injuries. The Court was, therefore, unable to
accept the mark as evidence of membership of the Society.
17. In view of this ruling, it was obviously useless to
proceed with cases in which the alleged mark formed the
only corroboration of the evidence of accomplices, and
it was decided to enter a nolle prosequi in such cases.
18. Out of 108 persons committed by the District Com-
missioner, 34 were brought to trial, 71 were released after
a nolle prosequi had been entered, and three died before
trial. Of the persons brought to trial, nine were convicted
APPENDIX 125
of murder and 10 others of lesser offences, the remaining
15 being acquitted. Seven of the nine men convicted
of murder were executed, and in the case of the other
two the capital sentence was commuted for one of im-
prisonment for life. Of the 1 5 persons who were acquitted
11 have since been expelled from the Colony and Pro-
tectorate on the recommendation of the Court ; and by
arrangement with the Government of Southern Nigeria
those who have been sentenced to imprisonment will be
transferred to Lagos to undergo their sentences there.
* * * *
19. While it is permissible to believe that the action
taken by the Government has had the effect of checking
the activities of the Human Leopard Society, at all
events for the time being, it would be by no means
prudent to assert that this criminal organization has been
broken up. Many persons of whose connection with the
Society there is little or no doubt are still at large, and
probably there are not a few others who have hitherto
not come under the notice of the authorities.
20. The blind belief of the natives in the efficacy of
the " medicines " concocted by the Society (especially
that known as " Borfima ") ; the power and authority
enjoyed by the possessors of these medicines ; the fact
that periodical human sacrifices are considered to be
necessary in order to renew the efficacy of the medicines ;
and a tendency on the part of some natives to cannibalism
pure and simple all these causes will contribute to the
survival of this baneful organization. It has held sway
for many years possibly for centuries and the task of
stamping it out will undoubtedly be one of great difficulty.
E. M. MERE WETHER,
Governor.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
FREETOWN,
Qth July, 1913.
126
APPENDIX
Title.
Enacting
Clause.
Short
Title.
Proclama-
tion of
districts.
No. 28 of
1909.
Unlawful
societies.
AN ORDINANCE to amend the Human Leopard and
Alligator Societies Ordinance, 1909
No. 17 OF 1912
Be it enacted by the Governor of the Colony of Sierra
Leone, with the advice and consent of the Legislative
Council thereof, as follows :
1 . This Ordinance may be cited as the Human Leopard
and Alligator Societies Amendment Ordinance, 1912.
2. (1) Whenever it appears to the Governor that a
murder has been committed in connection with an
unlawful society in any chief dom, it shall be lawful for
him by proclamation to declare such chiefdom or any
part thereof to be a proclaimed district.
(2) In a proclaimed district it shall be lawful for a
District Commissioner to order the arrest and detention
in custody of any person whose arrest and detention
he may consider desirable in the interests of justice. A
warrant under the hand of a District Commissioner shall
be sufficient authority to the person named therein to
detain any such person in such place as shall be men-
tioned therein.
3. For the words " the /any Human Leopard Society
and /or Alligator Society" wherever they occur in the
Human Leopard and Alligator Societies Ordinance, 1909
(hereinafter called the Principal Ordinance), shall be
substituted the words " any unlawful society."
4. (1) Every person who knowingly
(a) is or has before the commencement of this
Ordinance been a member of an unlawful
society ; or
(b) takes or has before the commencement of this
Ordinance taken part in the operations of an
unlawful society or of any meeting thereof,
shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment, with or
without hard labour, for a term not exceeding fourteen
years.
APPENDIX 127
(2) A Magistrate or District Commissioner on sworn
information may authorize any member of the Sierra
Leone Police Force or West African Frontier Force or a
court messenger to search any person whom there is good
reason to suspect of being a member of an unlawful
society or of having taken part in the operations of an
unlawful society, or of any meeting thereof, and for
this purpose may authorize any of the afore-mentioned
persons to enter any premises at any time and, if need be,
by force, on Sundays as well as on other days ; and if
any person wilfully hinders, molests or obstructs any of
the aforesaid persons in searching such suspected person,
every such person shall be liable, on summary conviction,
to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or to imprisonment,
with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding
twelve months.
5. For Section 12 of the Principal Ordinance shall be
substituted the following section :
12. When any person shall have been convicted Power of
of complicity in any murder committed in connection ijc<mnd
with an unlawful society, whether before or after to order
the commencement of this Ordinance, and the
Governor shall have decided to grant a pardon to
such person on condition of his undergoing a term of
imprisonment with or without hard labour, or when
any person shall have been convicted of complicity
in any murder aforesaid not involving the punish-
ment of death, or when any person shall have been
convicted of an offence under this Ordinance or any
Ordinance amending the same, and shall have been
sentenced by the Court to undergo a term of im-
prisonment with or without hard labour, the judge
before whom such person was so tried and convicted
shall forthwith send a report of such case to the
Governor, and it shall then be lawful for the Governor-
in-Council to direct that such person, not being an
alien, shall be deported from the Colony or Protec-
128
APPENDIX
Expulsion
of aliens.
Interpre-
tation of
terms.
torate to any other British Colony, there to serve
such term of imprisonment in such prison as the
Governor of such Colony may direct.
6. (1) In the case of a convicted person, who is an
alien, it shall be lawful for the Governor-in-Council,
after the completion of the term of imprisonment awarded
to such convicted person, to make an order (in this
Ordinance referred to as an expulsion order) requiring
such alien to leave the Colony or Protectorate within a
time fixed by the order and thereafter to remain out of
the Colony and Protectorate.
(2) If any alien in whose case an expulsion order has
been made is at any time found within the Colony or
Protectorate in contravention of the order, he shall, on
conviction, be liable to imprisonment, with or without
hard labour, for a term not exceeding ten years.
(3) Any person aiding or attempting to aid any person,
in whose case an expulsion order has been made, to return
to the Colony or Protectorate, and any person harbouring
such person, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour and shall,
on conviction, be liable to imprisonment, with or without
hard labour, for a term not exceeding two years.
7. The schedule to the Principal Ordinance is hereby
amended by adding at the end thereof the following
words :
(6) A dress made of baboon skins commonly used
by members of an unlawful society.
(7) A " kukoi " or whistle, commonly used for
calling together the members of an unlawful society.
(8) An iron needle, commonly used for branding
members of an unlawful society.
8. In this Ordinance " unlawful society " means the
Human Leopard Society, the Human Alligator Society,
or any other society existing for the purpose of com-
mitting or encouraging or procuring the commission of
murder.
" Alien " means a person who is a natural-born subject
APPENDIX 129
or citizen of a foreign state, or has been naturalized as
such.
9. Whereas various murders are alleged to have been indemnity
committed in connection with unlawful societies, and clause -
various persons have been arrested and detained in
custody in connection therewith ;
Now it is hereby enacted that all persons who were
before the commencement of this Ordinance concerned
in the arrest or detention in custody of such arrested
persons are hereby fully indemnified for anything done
by them in the arrest or detention in custody of such
arrested persons, and no action at law or otherwise shall
be maintained for such arrested persons having been
so arrested and detained in custody, and no writ of
habeas corpus shall be issued on their behalf.
10. This Ordinance shall apply to the Colony and Extent of
Protectorate.
Passed in the Legislative Council this Thirty-first day
of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand nine
hundred and twelve.
F. A. MILLER,
Clerk of Legislative Council.
AN ORDINANCE to constitute Special Commission Courts Title,
for the trial of persons charged with offences com-
mitted in connection with unlawful societies.
No. 18 OF 1912
Whereas there exist in the Colony and Protectorate Preamble,
certain unlawful societies formed for the purpose of com-
mitting murders ;
And whereas many murders have recently been com-
mitted under the influence of such unlawful societies ;
And whereas, owing to the number of these murders,
it is expedient to try all persons charged with offences
committed in connection with such unlawful societies by
a special tribunal ;
9
130
APPENDIX
Enacting
Clause.
Short
Title.
Special
Com-
mission
Court.
No. 28 of
1909.
Be it therefore enacted by the Governor of the Colony
of Sierra Leone, with the advice and consent of the Legis-
lative Council thereof, as follows :
1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Special Com-
mission Ordinance, 1912.
2. (1) The Governor may from time to time direct a
commission or commissions to be issued for the appoint-
ment of a Court or Courts of Special Commissioners for
the trial in manner provided by this Ordinance of persons,
committed for trial before the Supreme Court of the
Colony or the Circuit Court of the Protectorate, for any
of the following offences committed in the Colony or
Protectorate, whether before or after the commencement
of this Ordinance ; that is to say,
(a) murder, committed in connection with an un-
lawful society ;
(b) attempting or conspiring to commit murder in
connection with an unlawful society ;
(c) any of the offences under Section 2 of the Human
Leopard and Alligator Societies Ordinance,
1909, or under any Ordinance amending that
Ordinance ;
and the Governor may by warrant assign to any such
Court of Special Commissioners (in this Ordinance referred
to as a Special Commission Court) the duty of sitting
at the place named in the warrant, and of there, without
a jury and not assisted by any native chief, or non-native
or native assessors, hearing and determining, according to
law, the charge made against the person so committed for
trial and named in the warrant, and of doing therein
what to justice appertains.
(2) A Special Commission Court shall consist of three
persons to be named in such commission, of whom one
shall be a judge or barrister or solicitor of the Supreme
Court of the Colony or of any other Court in the British
dominions, and they shall try in open court, according to
the tenor of a warrant under this Ordinance, all persons
APPENDIX 131
named in the warrant who may be brought before them
for trial. The Governor shall appoint one of the members
of a Special Commission Court to be the President thereof.
(3) A member of a Special Commission Court shall NO. i of
take such oaths as are prescribed by the Promissory Oaths 187 *
Ordinance of 1870, to be taken by Judges.
(4) The evidence taken on a trial before a Special
Commission Court and the reasons, if any, given by the
members of the said Court in delivering judgment, shall
be taken down in writing by the President of the said
Court.
(5) A person tried by a Special Commission Court
shall be acquitted unless the whole Court concur in his
conviction, and the members of the said Court shall in
all cases of conviction give in open court the reasons
for such conviction.
(6) The Governor shall from time to time provide for
the payment of the reasonable expenses of witnesses.
3. (1) There shall be attached to a Special Commission Appoint-
Court an Assistant Master, who shall attend such Special ^Sstant
Commission Court, when sitting to try persons charged Master.
with offences under this Ordinance. Such Assistant
Master, while discharging or performing the duties of
his office, shall have all the powers of the Master of the
Supreme Court of the Colony.
(2) If at any time the Assistant Master shall be pre-
vented by illness or other unavoidable absence from
acting in his office, it shall be lawful for the Court to
appoint from time to time a deputy to act for the said
Assistant Master and to remove such deputy at its pleasure,
and such deputy, while acting under such appointment,
shall have the like powers as if he were the Assistant
Master.
4. (1) A warrant for the trial by a Special Commission Reguia-
Court of a person charged with an offence shall be in the
form contained in the Schedule to this Ordinance. and nc> tice
(2) Not less than seven days before the sitting of any
132 APPENDIX
Special Commission Court, notice thereof shall be pub-
lished in the Gazette stating the names of the Special
Commissioners, the place at which the Court will sit, and
the day on which the sitting of the Court will begin.
(3) An objection to the jurisdiction of a Special Com-
mission Court to try a person for any offence shall not
be entertained by reason only of any non-observance
of the provisions of this section ; but the Court, on
application, may adjourn the case, so as to prevent any
person charged being prejudiced by such non-observance.
Reguia- 5. (i) if any member of a Special Commission Court
courts. dies, or if it appears to the Governor that from illness or
some reasonable cause it is necessary that another person
should be appointed in the place of a member of a
Special Commission Court, the Governor may, if he thinks
it expedient so to do, direct a supplemental commission
to be issued, appointing another person to fill the vacancy
in such Court.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, and
for the purpose of the trial of any persons charged before
them, a Special Commission Court shall have the same
privileges, powers and jurisdiction as if it were the Circuit
Court of the Protectorate, trying with native chiefs, or
non-native or native assessors an offender before such
Court, and shall follow, as far as possible, the practice
and procedure of that Court, and in hearing and deter-
mining the cases of all persons tried before a Special
Commission Court, such Court shall, as far as possible,
be guided in arriving at a decision by the laws in force
in the Colony. A Special Commission Court shall be a
court of record, and the same intendment shall be made
in respect of all orders, writs, and process made by and
issuing out of such Special Commission Court, as if it
were a court of record acting according to the course
and by the authority of the common law.
(3) All the members of a Special Commission Court shall
be present at the hearing and determination of the case
APPENDIX 133
of a person tried before such Court, but, save as aforesaid,
the jurisdiction of the Court may be exercised by any
of such members, and any act of the Court shall not be
invalidated by reason of any vacancy among the members.
(4) The trial by a Special Commission Court of a person
in pursuance of a warrant under this Ordinance shall
begin as soon as may be, but it shall be lawful for the
Court to postpone such trial on the request of such
person, or on account of the illness or absence of a witness,
or on account of a vacancy in the Court, or of the illness
of such person, or some other sufficient cause, and to
discontinue a trial of a person, when commenced, on
account of a vacancy in the Court or the illness of such
person, or some other sufficient cause.
(5) Where a trial of a person is postponed or discon-
tinued, the trial of such person may take place before the
same Court or any other Special Commission Court,
and shall take place as soon as may be.
(6) In the event of a trial of a person taking place
before another Special Commission Court, a new warrant
shall be issued for the trial of such person.
(7) A commission appointing a Special Commission
Court shall not be superseded or affected by the issue of
another like commission, nor shall the sitting or juris-
diction of such Court be affected by the sitting of any
such commission or of the Supreme Court of the Colony
or the Circuit Court of the Protectorate.
(8) A Special Commission Court shall be a Court within No. 5 of
the meaning of the Perjury Ordinance, 1896, and the jf<?. 6 i2 of
Children (Criminal Law Amendment) Ordinance, 1910. 1910.
(9) The provisions of the Supreme Court Amendment No. 14 of
Ordinance, 1912, shall not apply to a trial of a person
by a Special Commission Court.
(10) An objection to the jurisdiction of a Special
Commission Court to try a person in pursuance of a
warrant under this Ordinance shall not be entertained by
reason only of any want of form in the warrant, or of any
134
APPENDIX
Procedure.
Deposi-
tions of
absent
witnesses
when
admissible.
Audience
of counsel.
mistake in the name or description of such person in
the warrant, if it is shown that the person tried is the
person to whom the warrant relates ; and an objection
to the proceedings of such Court for any want of form
on the trial of any person shall not be entertained, if
no injustice was thereby done to such person.
6. (1) When a person is brought up for trial before
a Special Commission Court, he shall be triable for any
offence, being one, or connected with one, of the offences
referred to in Section 2 of this Ordinance, disclosed by
the depositions taken by the Court of the District
Commissioner at the investigation of the charge, and
the Special Commission Court shall inform such person
specifically of the charge whereon he is to be tried, and
shall record such charge in writing and call upon such
person to plead thereto.
(2) At any time before the trial, on application by a
person charged with an offence or by some person on
his behalf, a copy of the written charge, if any, of the
depositions and of the statement of such person so
charged shall be supplied by the officer in whose custody
the originals are deposited at the time of such application,
for which a reasonable charge, not exceeding sixpence
for every hundred words, may be made, or the same
may be supplied without payment, as shall to the officer
granting the application in his discretion seem expedient.
7. The deposition of any witness taken by the Court
of the District Commissioner at the investigation of
the charge in the presence of the person charged, such
person having had full opportunity of cross-examining
such witness, may be given in evidence before a Special
Commission Court if the witness be dead, or if the Court
be satisfied that for any sufficient cause his attendance
cannot be procured.
8. Barristers and solicitors of the Supreme Court of
the Colony and officers appointed by the Governor to
prosecute shall be allowed to appear and be heard at the
APPENDIX 135
trials of persons charged with offences before a Special
Commission Court.
9. A Special Commission Court shall have power in Power to
capital cases to inflict punishment of death, and when a j^ence of
sentence of death has been passed, all the proceedings death.
in the case shall with the least possible delay be forwarded,
together with a report from the Special Commission Court,
to the Governor, and no sentence of death shall be carried
into effect except upon the warrant of the Governor and in
the mode and in the place directed by him, and such war-
rant shall be the authority for carrying the same into effect.
10. A Special Commission Court shall send to the
Governor a report of the cases of all persons convicted Deporta-
by such Court, and thereupon the power of deportation to
and expulsion conferred by sections 5 and 6 of the Human
Leopard and Alligator Societies Amendment Ordinance,
1912, shall extend to persons convicted by a Special No. 17 of
Commission Court, and all the applicable provisions
contained in Sections 13, 14 and 15 of the Human Leopard
and Alligator Societies Ordinance, 1909, and in Section 6
of the Human Leopard and Alligator Societies Amendment
Ordinance, 1912, shall extend to all persons deported or
expelled under this Ordinance, and to all persons aiding No. 28 of
or attempting to aid such deported or expelled persons 1J
unlawfully to return to the Colony or Protectorate, and
to all persons unlawfully harbouring such deported or
expelled persons.
11. (l) If a person tried by a Special Commission
Court shall be acquitted, but the Court shall be of opinion
that it is expedient for the security, peace or order of the
district in which the offence with which such person was
charged took place, that such person should be expelled
from such district, the said Court shall send to the
Governor a report of the case, and thereupon it sna ^ Powerto
be lawful for the Governor-in-Council to make an order ex pel
(in this Ordinance referred to as an expulsion order) V*
requiring such person to leave the Colony or Protectorate acquitted.
136
APPENDIX
Definition
of unlaw-
ful society.
No. 17 of
1912.
Extent of
Ordinance.
Duration
of Ordi-
nance.
within a time fixed by the order, and thereafter to
remain out of the Colony and Protectorate.
(2) If any person in whose case an expulsion order
has been made is at any time found within the Colony
or Protectorate in contravention of the order, he shall,
on conviction, be liable to imprisonment, with or without
hard labour, for a term not exceeding ten years.
(3) Any person aiding or attempting to aid any person,
in whose case an expulsion order has been made, to
return to the Colony or Protectorate, and any person
harbouring such person, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour
and shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment, with
or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding two years.
12. The expression " unlawful society " has the same
meaning as in the Human Leopard and Alligator Societies
Amendment Ordinance, 1912.
13. This Ordinance shall apply to the Colony and Pro-
tectorate.
14. This Ordinance shall continue in force until the
expiration of one year next after the commencement
thereof : Provided that the expiration of this Ordinance
shall not affect the validity of anything done in pursuance
of this Ordinance, and any person convicted under this
Ordinance may be punished as if this Ordinance con-
tinued in force, and all prosecutions and other legal
proceedings pending under this Ordinance at the time of
the expiration thereof may be carried on, completed and
carried into effect, and the sentences carried into execution
as if this Ordinance had not expired.
SCHEDULE. (Section 4.)
Whereas by a commission dated the day
of and issued under and by virtue of the
Special Commission Court Ordinance, 1912, you have
been appointed Special Commissioners to form a Special
Commission Court for the trial in manner provided by
APPENDIX 137
the said Ordinance of persons committed for trial before
the Court of the for offences,
in connection with unlawful societies ;
And whereas the persons whose names are set out in
the Schedule hereto have been committed for trial before
the Court of the for offences in
connection with unlawful societies ;
Now I, ,
Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of
Sierra Leone, hereby assign to you the said Special
Commissioners the duty of sitting at in
the Protectorate (or Colony) of Sierra Leone, and of there,
without a jury and not assisted by any native chief or
non-native or native assessors, hearing and determining,
according to law, the charges made against the persons
whose names are set out in the Schedule hereto, and of
doing therein what to justice appertains, and this shall
be to you a sufficient warrant in that behalf.
Given under my hand this day of
To
Governor.
SCHEDULE
Passed in the Legislative Council this Fifteenth day
of November in the year of our Lord One thousand nine
hundred and twelve.
F. A. MILLER,
Clerk of Legislative Council.
AN ORDINANCE to amend the Special Commission
Ordinance, 1912
No. 21 OF 1912.
Be it enacted by the Governor of the Colony of Sierra
Leone, with the advice and consent of the Legislative
Council thereof, as follows :
1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Special Com- Short title,
mission Court (Amendment) Ordinance, 1912.
138 APPENDIX
Various 2. The Special Commission Ordinance, 1912, is hereby
amend- j ,
ments in amended,
I9i2 18 f W In section l > b y inserting the word "Court"
after the word " Commission."
(2) By adding at the end of subsection (5) of section 2
the following paragraph :
" In all other matters the decision or opinion
of the Court shall be according to the decision
or opinion of a majority of the members of the
Court."
(3) In line 3 of section 3, by inserting the word
" triable " after the word " offences," and in
line 8 of the same section by substituting the
words 4t reasonable cause " for the words " un-
avoidable absence."
(4) In subsection (10) of section 5, by inserting the
words "to be " before the word " tried " in
line 5 thereof.
(5) In section 6, by inserting the words " which may
in the opinion of the Court be " after the word
" Ordinance " in line 4 thereof.
(6) In section 9, by inserting the words " the notes
of evidence and " after the word " passed " in
line 2 thereof, and by inserting after the word
" case " in line 3 thereof the words " or copies
thereof certified under the hand of the Assistant
Master."
(7) In subsection (3) of section 11, by inserting the
word "unlawfully" before the word "har-
bouring " in line 3 thereof.
(8) By inserting the word " To " at the beginning of
the Schedule, by transferring the words " given
under my hand this day of
Governor " in lines 19 and 20 of the Schedule
to the end of the Schedule to the Schedule,
and by striking out the word " To " inline 22
of the Schedule.
APPENDIX 139
3. An officer appointed by the Governor to prosecute Powers of
at the trials of persons charged with offences before a p^Scutor
Special Commission Court shall, for the purposes of such
trials, have the same rights and powers as the Attorney-
General.
4. The following section shall be substituted for section Duration
14 of the Special Commission Court Ordinance, 1912 : nan ce *
"14. This Ordinance shall continue in force until
the expiration of one year next after the commence-
ment thereof : Provided that the expiration of this
Ordinance shall not affect the validity of anything
done in pursuance of, nor the continuing validity of
any deportation or expulsion under this Ordinance, nor
the liability to punishment of any persons committing
an offence under sections 10 and 11 hereof, and any
person convicted under this Ordinance may be pun-
ished as if this Ordinance continued in force, and
all prosecutions and other legal proceedings pending
under this Ordinance at the time of the expiration
thereof may be carried on, completed and carried
into effect, and the sentences carried into execution,
and deportation and expulsion orders made, as if
this Ordinance had not expired."
5. This Ordinance shall apply to the Colony and Pro- Extent of
tectorate. Ordinance.
Passed in the Legislative Council this Thirteenth day
of December, in the year of Our Lord One thousand nine
hundred and twelve.
F. A. MILLER,
Clerk of Legislative Council.
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655 Human Leopards
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